Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy
by Mionefan
Summary: Harry & Hermione become friends before school starts. McGonagall is their only ally and Dumbledor's attempts at manipulation drive them to leave Hogwarts and resume school at Beauxbatons. AU story and canon will mostly be ignored. Rating changed to M.
1. Chapter 1 Defiance

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M for later chapters.

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed for tweaking the story where it needed it.

**Chapter 1: Defiance**

**Dursley residence: July 31st 1991**

As the sun rose on Harry's eleventh birthday, it seemed that today would be no different than any other day or birthday. How very wrong he was.

The morning mail had just been dropped through the mail slot, and Harry had been sent to retrieve it.

Picking up the mail, Harry noticed a strange letter with no stamp, but addressed to him:

Mr. Harry Potter

Cupboard Under The Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

Wondering over the odd letter, he opened it on the way back to the kitchen.

"What's keeping that boy?" Vernon Dursley mused aloud. "Boy, get back here, where's the mail? Surely a simple thing like that isn't beyond your dim mind!"

Dudley chuckled at that. Dudley was the Dursley's very overweight son and took every opportunity to bully his cousin Harry.

Petunia, Vernon's wife, sniffed and piled more food on her husband and son's plate. One would expect young Harry to be fat, like his cousin, but the Dursley's made sure he got only the bare minimum to sustain him.

"Uncle Vernon," Harry queried, "what kind of a joke is someone trying to pull on me? This letter, addressed to me, invites me to attend a magic school. There's no such thing as magic, is there?"

Vernon grew very red in the face and grabbed the letter. "Don't be stupid, of course there's no such thing as magic!"

But Harry could see a nervous twitch to his uncle's face when he said that and his aunt had gone very white, her hand flying to her mouth, barely covering the gasp she made.

Vernon made to rip the letter up, but it refused to rip, no matter how hard he tried. Frustrated, he ran to the fireplace, throwing the letter into the flames. It refused to burn and instead floated out of the fireplace, landing in a startled Harry's hand. It seemed the letter didn't wish to be destroyed.

"Give me that letter!" Vernon bellowed.

In Harry's first ever act of defiance, he stated firmly, "No! It's addressed to me and it seems to want to stay with me."

Uncle Vernon's face took on a definite puce shade now. "What did you say, boy?" he intoned dangerously.

Harry gulped, but stood his ground. "It's mine, as it's addressed to me," he reiterated. "Why do you care, if it's a joke? It is a joke isn't it?"

Petunia squeaked at this act of defiance. "V-Vernon…" she stuttered meekly. "L-look, it has that crest on the envelope.

Harry glanced at the seemingly indestructible parchment and noticed the crest, a complicated coat of arms with animals rampant in the shield with an 'H' as the central piece.

Vernon suddenly changed tactics. "You will NOT be going," he stated firmly. "It's a freak school and we won't be paying good money to some loony person to teach you magic tricks!"

A knock was heard at the door then, interrupting Vernon's rant.

"Get the door, boy. On second thought, out of my way, I'll get it!" his uncle blustered. Harry followed at a distance, curious if this had anything to do with the odd letter.

At the door, Vernon was met with the sight of a very severe looking woman, dressed quite oddly. She wore what seemed to be a black robe and her hair was done in a tight bun. She looked to be well past middle age.

"Mr. Dursley?" she inquired. "My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am here to see Mr. Harry Potter. May I come in?"

"Wh-what do you want with him?" Vernon asked nervously. He had seen people like this before, years ago. Unnatural people, freaks. This wouldn't go well, plus, she had that look of command that brooked no nonsense.

"Mr. Potter should have received his letter by now**;** I am here to escort him to purchase his school materials." Her look made Vernon shiver. Petunia had told him about this woman. She was not to be messed with.

"Ah, er… well, you see, um, we can't afford to send him to your school," he extemporised.

"Are you going to invite me in?" she asked, with steel in her words.

"Y-yes, certainly, but it won't do you any good, he won't be going to your school."

"I seriously doubt that is the case," McGonagall said. "That boy has had his name down for Hogwarts since his birth. His parents have provided for his schooling."

"W-what? He has money?" A greedy look came over Vernon's face at the prospect of gaining access to this previously unknown source of funds.

As Minerva settled in the Dursley's lounge room, Harry peeked in, curious about the new visitor.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, won't you join us?" she asked politely. "Yes, Mr. Dursley, Mr. Potter has sufficient funds to attend, and no, you do not have access to them."

Vernon blustered. "We're his guardians, of course we would have access to his funds." He rubbed his hands greedily at the thought.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Dursley, the goblins will not allow you to touch the funds. In fact, if you try, you will be cursed.

Vernon shuddered at that, Petunia had told him stories about these unnatural beings. She had accompanied her sister Lily and their parents on their first trip to Diagon Alley. They had visited the wizard bank and seen the goblins for herself. Petunia never forgot the look that one of them gave her as they made their way into the creepy establishment. Even now, Vernon could almost see the evil looking freaks. Petunia had been so traumatised that she refused to have anything to do with magic and in time, came to hate her sister.

"Mr. Potter, my name is Professor McGonagall, I am the Assistant Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have come to assist you in the purchase of your school supplies, and to introduce you to the wizarding world."

Harry's jaw dropped open at this and his mind refused to believe what he had just heard.

"M-magic is real? Um, are you a-a… witch?"

"Correct on both counts Mr. Potter."

Dudley just stared at the professor, not really believing a word of it. Petunia knew better and sat, nervously wringing her hands.

A huge grin broke out on Harry's face as he thought about the possibilities. "Can you… you know… show me some magic?"

McGonagall smiled for the first time, brought her wand out**,** and transformed the small table in front of her into a brightly coloured bird. As the bird flew to Harry's shoulder, he let out a gasp of delight. The professor summoned the bird back to her and restored it back to its original state as a table.

"Wow," was all Harry could say.

Dudley was slowly backing out of the room, finally turning and making a run for it. Petunia looked fearfully at her table, as if the table might revert again to a bird and fly away.

Vernon had finally gained his nerve back and spoke. "We'll not allow it! The boy needs our permission to attend your freak school, and I won't have it!" he bellowed.

"Mr. Dursley, I'd advise you to rethink what you just said," McGonagall stated. "The wizarding government has very little patience with Muggles, especially ones like you. This boy is famous in our world. His magical education is a high priority with the government. You might not like the results if you attempt to interfere," she said frostily.

Harry had a thousand questions, but as he opened his mouth to ask one the professor waved him quiet. "I'll explain in due course, Mr. Potter. Come, we have quite a lot to do." And with that, she rose and beckoned Harry to follow, leaving a stunned Vernon Dursley wondering how he had lost control of the conversation.

…………..

As soon as they left the house, Professor McGonagall told Harry that they would be travelling to another house to pick up a Muggle-born witch.

"What's a 'Muggle', Professor?"

"That's a non magical person, Mr. Potter. A Muggle-born is simply someone magical born to a non-magical family. The person we are to meet is a young girl just a bit older than you. Her name is Hermione Granger, and from all accounts is quite smart.

"Now hold on to my hand tightly and I'll transport us there by magical means. It's called Apparation and you'll feel a bit of discomfort."

A bit of discomfort was an understatement. Harry felt as if he was being squeezed through a hosepipe. Harry stumbled a bit as they arrived and Minerva caught him.

Suddenly, they were there, looking at a neat two-story house in an unfamiliar town. This house was a much nicer looking house than his relatives'. Instead of a cookie cutter type house where all the houses in the neighbourhood looked identical, the Granger house stood out as a quietly elegant home, set apart from its neighbours with tall trees in the yard. It was noticeably cooler here and Harry thought they must have travelled a considerable distance.

"Uh, Professor, just where are we?"

"We are in Broom, near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. This is northeast of London."

Harry had never been outside Little Whinging, so he really only had a vague idea where they were. "Northeast of London, well I can sort of picture that from what I was taught in school."

"It's a nice quiet town. Ah, I see Miss Granger is just coming outside now," the Professor replied.

Harry saw a bushy haired girl with nice soft brown eyes, about the same age as him but somewhat shorter. She was dressed in a pair of blue-jeans and a thin, short sleeved black shirt. _'How does she stay warm in that?'_ he wondered. Her figure was somewhat straight with just a hint of curves starting to show. The face was what drew his eyes: a pleasant well formed face with a pixie nose and nice smile.

Hermione started when she noticed two people walking up to her door. "Hello. May I help you?"

"Good morning Miss Granger, My name is Professor McGonagall, and this is Mr. Harry Potter. I have come to introduce you two to the wizarding world before you attend school. You did receive your letter, I assume."

Hermione squealed in delight and rushed up to shake hands with the pair.

'_Oh great, a squealing girl,'_ Harry thought.

"Professor McGonagall, I'm ever so pleased you came. I have a million questions to ask!" And she was off. "What books do we need? Why am I a witch and not my mother? How do we get to Hogwarts? When does the school year start?" At this point, she stopped for breath before launching into more rapid-fire questions.

Harry could barely keep up with the questions she rattled off, some of which echoed his own. _'Well, Professor McGonagall was right. She seems very smart with the type of questions she's asking. I never would have thought to ask some of those,'_

"Miss Granger, I'll answer all your questions in time, but for now, can you hold them? Shall we go inside so that I might speak to your parents?"

"Oh! How silly of me, of course, come in."

"Mum, Dad! We have visitors," she called, as she led the Professor and Harry inside.

Introducing her parents, she said, "Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter, I'd like you to meet my parents. This is my Mum, Mrs. Jane Granger, and my Dad, Mr. Dan Granger, they are dentists."

After the introductions, the Professor proceeded to tell the Grangers and Harry more about Hogwarts and what to expect, finishing up with: "This is a seven year program and the children will be boarded at the school. They will be transported to and from school by train. The school year starts September 1st and runs until after exams in early June. Students will return home on June 20th and may return home for Christmas holidays if they wish. They will be taught by the finest teachers in Britain."

"But what will they learn?" Jane asked.

"Magic, Mrs. Granger, magic! When they graduate, they will be able to do things that you could only dream of doing. Oh, it's so much more than parlour tricks. Things that you need machines and time consuming drudgery for, they will be able to do with a simple wave of a wand. Think of repairing broken things." Minerva dropped a vase that had been lying on the coffee table onto the floor, causing it to shatter. "Reparo," she waved her wand over the shards and they re-assembled themselves back into the vase, apparently as good as new.

Both Jane and Dan gasped, first in horror when she dropped the expensive antique, and then in amazement when it was again whole and apparently unblemished. Harry and Hermione blinked in amazement.

"We can mend broken bones almost as easily, as well as cure most common ailments. Surgery is virtually unknown in the wizard world."

She transformed into a cat and back again. Jane squeaked in alarm, and Dan could only stare.

"That was brilliant!" Harry and Hermione chorused as one.

Harry looked at Hermione and blushed. Hermione's face had likewise turned a faint pink as she realised they both spoke together.

"Well, you've only seen a tiny sample of what is possible. These two are expected to be among the best students we will see at Hogwarts; Hermione, because she is a hard worker and brilliant at such a young age, and Harry, because the Potter line has traditionally been smart and powerful.

"With your permission Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I'd like to escort them to shop for their school supplies. You may accompany us if you wish."

"Yes, of course, but what about Mr. Potter, where are his parents?" Dan inquired

"Unfortunately, Mr. Potter's parents were killed when he was very young and his relatives have not seen fit to, erm, accompany him."

"My uncle said they died in a car crash," Harry supplied.

"Mr. Potter, your parents were murdered. I'm surprised your relatives did not tell you that!" Minerva corrected. "I'll tell you more in private, but for now, we should be going."

Harry's mind was in a whirl. His Uncle Vernon lied to him! Why would he do that? He knew they despised him, but to deny the truth to him was too much. He felt the hatred of his uncle reach new heights.

Dan offered to drive them into London and Minerva accepted. The five of them piled into the Granger's late model Mercedes town car and drove the almost 64 kilometres to The Leaky Cauldron in London.

Minerva showed them into the dingy looking pub, nodding to Tom the bartender.

Harry wondered just what sort of place this wizarding world was. The pub looked like something out of the nineteenth century and had certainly seen better days. There were an odd assortment of people (wizards and witches he imagined), in the pub; most dressed rather oddly and shabbily. _'I would fit right in,'_ Harry thought. _'Most of these people look as poor as I am.'_

Hermione thought the folks in the pub looked rather poor, but dismissed the thought when she correctly figured, that they weren't representative of wizards and witches in general. After all, she had imagined that most folk would be at work or home at this time of day. Indeed, there were a few that looked well to do, even if they dressed differently than she expected.

Dan and Jane were not pub goers, so they too had no basis to judge the people here, although they would admit that most inhabitants were not what they expected.

"Come along," McGonagall prodded. "We'll exit through the back to Diagon Alley, our shopping area."

When they exited through the back door, they were facing a blank brick wall. The professor tapped several bricks on the wall and an archway magically formed, opening on to a wondrous sight.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," she proclaimed proudly.

Harry, Hermione and her parents gawked at the sight. As they stepped through the archway, Harry and Hermione knew a thrill of discovery. Here was magic openly displayed. The street was crowded with shoppers in all sorts of attire. Although most wore robes, some wore the most outlandish combination of clothes. Purple pants with orange sweaters were some of the less odd attire. One wizard wore a silk top hat, a violently green suit**,** and gumboots.

Harry and Hermione had to snicker at that. As they looked at the shops, they noted the variety of items for sale. There was a magical menagerie shop, a broom shop 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' stated the sign.

"What's Quidditch?" Harry wondered aloud.

"That's our sport, Mr. Potter. It's played on broomsticks and has a great following. We have four teams at Hogwarts, although I doubt you'll be playing this year. Your father was an excellent player, so maybe it's in your blood too.

"We need to exchange some money, so we'll visit Gringotts, the wizarding bank," McGonagall announced.

"But I have no money to exchange," Harry said plaintively.

"Nonsense, Mr. Potter. Your parents left you sufficient funds in your trust vault. I have the key with me. When you reach the age of seventeen, you will be able to access your parent's main vault. The Potters were very well off and their will leaves everything to you."

Harry was finding it hard to come to grips with all the changes in his life that had occurred today. He was a wizard, he had money and he was going to boarding school. The best part was learning that his parents had loved him enough to provide him the means to learn magic.

McGonagall led them into the bank, carefully keeping her guests close. There was no reason to have people staring at them, especially Harry. Walking up to the nearest teller, she requested a private meeting. The Goblin, seeing who was there, asked them to follow him to an office off the main hall.

After they had been seated, the professor introduced everyone. "This is Mr. Harry Potter, Miss Hermione Granger and her parents Jane and Dan Granger."

"Mr. Potter, so nice to see you. My name is Griphook and we've been waiting for you to arrive."

"You have? Why on earth would you be waiting for me?"

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I have served the Potter clan for many years. Since you are the last of the line, I have been requested by my manager to extend every courtesy towards you. Now, how may I help you?"

McGonagall intervened at this point. "Griphook, we are merely here to access Mr. Potter's vault for funds to purchase his school supplies. Miss Granger would also like to exchange some money."

"Actually," Mr. Granger corrected her, "we would like to set up a vault for my daughter as well."

"You are Muggles?" replied Griphook.

"Erm, yes, why do you ask?"

"I'm afraid our banking laws don't permit muggles to open accounts at Gringotts, I'm so sorry, but the Ministry of Magic passed that law some years ago."

"Well," McGonagall said smoothly, before tempers could flare, "then I'll open the account for Miss Granger, who, by the way, is a witch."

Hermione smiled at this apparent loophole, joined by her parents when they realised what had just happened. They had circumvented a bigoted law, probably passed by some ministry nitwit. They couldn't know that the Wizengamot itself had drafted this law to restrict access to muggleborns. Minerva had run across this bigotry before and simply found the way around it.

Griphook smiled, showing his sharp teeth. It was a very disconcerting smile, full of shrewdness and grudging admiration for someone to outwit the Wizengamot. After all, business is business and to a Goblin, money talks.

Griphook entered Hermione's name in a ledger, requested a drop of blood and issued her a vault key. McGonagall signed in the appropriate place and after Dan handed over a considerable amount of British Pounds, they all trouped down the hall to a large door. The door was very solid looking, quite thick and bound with iron. On the other side of the door, a massive cavern was visible with tracks leading down.

Griphook summoned a cart and they all piled in. It was a bit crowded, but the cart seemed to expand to accommodate the extra people. When they were all seated, the cart started moving. Faster and faster the cart accelerated taking an apparently pre-determined route. The lighting was dim from the torches set in the walls of the cavern and every so often they would pass a returning cart. They passed underground rivers and deep canyons, veering around huge stalagmites rising like silent giants from the floor. The steady drip, drip of water could be heard and lent an eerie feeling to the cavern.

Harry and Hermione hung on for dear life, fearing the cart would spill them all out as they raced through the underground. Dan was enjoying the ride, but Jane was terrified and clung to him desperately until the cart finally rolled to a stop.

"Vault 687," Griphook announced. "Key please."

Harry handed him the key and after the vault was unlocked, Harry looked inside. He gaped, not quite believing his eyes. Inside the vault was more gold than he'd ever thought possible. There were heaps of gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts.

"Only Mr. Potter may enter his Trust Vault," Griphook warned. "Anyone else would be cursed. Of course bank employees may enter," he added as an afterthought.

Harry quickly gathered up several handfuls of coins and placed them in a leather bag that was sitting nearby. After exiting the vault, the door swung shut with a clang and sealed itself.

"I've taken the liberty to secure the adjacent vault for Miss Granger. Number 688 happened to be vacant. Now since you haven't been here before, Miss Granger, I'll need to key your blood to the vault. Mr. Potter's parents keyed him in when he was a baby.

After that was taken care of, Griphook deposited the GBP notes that Dan had handed him into a special box inside the vault. Instantly, the equivalent Galleons, Sickles and Knuts appeared in neat stacks on the floor of the vault. Hermione withdrew an equal amount that Harry had taken from his vault and exited the vault. Griphook presented her with the key and her vault swung shut sealing itself.

A quick ride back and they exited the bank. Jane was looking a little green after the ride and Dan had to hold onto her. Hermione was bouncing on her feet. "That was just like riding a roller-coaster," she gushed.

Harry smiled at the enthusiasm Hermione showed. In truth, he enjoyed the ride as well. Maybe girls weren't a bunch of sissies after all. His cousin Dudley had assured him that all girls were stupid and sissies. Harry had just found out for himself that Hermione didn't belong in either category.

……………


	2. Chapter 2 The Grangers

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed for tweaking the story where it needed it.

**Chapter 2: The Grangers**

**Diagon Alley: July 31st 1991**

After the bank, they entered Madam Malkins for their school robes. Professor McGonagall and the Grangers watched as first Harry and then Hermione were fitted.

"Boy, these robes sure do hide a lot," Harry remarked. Not exactly in style in the muggle world are they?"

"They're meant for protection and warmth, Mr. Potter," the professor remarked. "They also conform to Ministry guidelines for proper dress. You may be surprised how little we pay attention to the muggle world."

Harry sniggered and Hemione smiled. She thought they also had the advantage of hiding a young ladies figure and would be less distracting in school. Of course she was too young to think of things like that, but she had noticed her school's older girls were ogled frequently. That would be plain embarrassing, she thought.

After Madam Malkin had finished with them, they made their way to a luggage shop, where they both purchased a trunk for their school things. The salesman tried to sell them a magical trunk, but they both decided it wasn't necessary. The shopkeeper did advise them to get locking charms to prevent theft, and they agreed.

Next, the apothecary where they purchased the recommended items: potion ingredients, a nice brass scale for weighing precise amounts, a sharp cutting knife, as well as a pair of dragon hide gloves and a pewter cauldron.

Next stop was Flourish and Blotts for their books. Besides the standard books on the book list, Hermione bought a thick tome "Hogwarts, a History" along with "Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts", "Modern Magical History" and "Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century". Harry wondered if he should pick up any extra books and finally settled on a rather advanced defense book "Protecting Yourself From Dark Spells and Curses". Harry wasn't quite sure why he picked up this book, but felt it could come in handy in case he ever was attacked. Thumbing through the book, he shuddered at some of the curses shown there.

Their next to last stop was at Magical Menagerie for a familiar or pet. Harry was unsure about this, as he'd never owned an animal before. Oh, he'd spoken to quite a few, and some even spoke back, but he'd learned not to tell anyone about that. Aunt Petunia had shrieked when he brought a garden snake into the house and was talking to it. Of course, Aunt Petunia didn't know he was talking, all she heard was hissing. He quickly returned the snake to the garden when Vernon came storming downstairs. He hadn't been allowed out of his cupboard for a week.

A beautiful snowy owl caught his eye and he went over to look. "Hello," he said softly. "You're really beautiful. Would you like to come home with me?"

The owl hooted and bobbed her head, staring straight at him.

That settled it. He wanted that owl. The storeowner was a bit curious, since the owl seemed to ignore other people and actually nipped some potential customers. Shrugging his shoulders, he sold Harry the owl. "She seems to like you, young sir."

Harry had kept his scar hidden at McGonagall's suggestion, to avoid unwanted notice, unfortunately that would soon change.

Hermione settled on a part Kneezle cat. It had a very squashed face, a bottlebrush furry tail and apparently an attitude. The shop owner was quite pleased to sell him finally. He sat purring as Hermione stroked him while waiting for Harry.

Their final stop was for a wand. Entering a small dark shop called Ollivander's, Minerva greeted the owner, a slightly creepy old gentleman with moon like eyes.

"Good afternoon Minerva. Ah, Mr. Potter, I wondered when you would be stopping by. Here to buy your first wand I see. And Miss Granger; my, my, I haven't seen a Granger in here for, lets see, over fifty years."

Both Dan and Jane gasped at this. "Surely you must be mistaken," Dan replied. "There are no magical people in my family as far as I know."

"Oh, let me think now, there was a Perry Granger that bought a wand here fifty years ago."

"Uncle Perry was a wizard?" Hermione asked.

"Dan, wasn't he just a bit odd?" Jane asked.

"Now that I think about it, nobody wanted to talk much about him. He got on very well with Hermione, but the rest of the family just tried to ignore him. He died last year."

"He was funny Dad. Now that I think about it, he did do odd things that I couldn't explain. He even said that I'd be able to… He knew I was a witch!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"My relatives never told me either," Harry supplied. "Maybe he was afraid what happened to him would happen to you."

Hermione was thoughtful for a moment, before reluctantly agreeing.

Harry took a long time selecting his wand. "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter," the old man told him. He eventually found the right wand, a holly 11", supple, with a single phoenix tail feather core. A brilliant burst of gold and red stars left the wand, dancing around the shop when he gave it a wave.

"Curious, that wand is a brother to the wand that gave you that scar, Mr. Potter," Mr. Ollivander said.

"And who owned that wand," Harry asked, fearful that he would learn the name of the wizard that killed his parents.

Minerva interrupted. "Mr. Potter, an evil wizard named Voldemort gave you that scar and killed your parents." She shuddered at the mention of his name. Most people are afraid to say his name, preferring to say 'He Who Must Not Be Named' instead. His followers called themselves 'Death Eaters' and referred to Voldemort as The Dark Lord. He was very powerful, but thank goodness he's gone."

"What happened to him," Harry wondered.

"Why, you, Mr. Potter. You defeated him when he cast the killing curse on you," Ollivander replied.

"Excuse me? How is that possible?"

"Nobody knows, Mr. Potter. The curse somehow rebounded and killed him instead. You're the only one to have survived the killing curse," Ollivander continued.

Hermione and her parents could only gape in open amazement and horror.

Once Harry had paid for his wand, it was Hermione's turn. After several tries, Hermione's wand turned out to be vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core. She waved it and a fountain of golden sparks shot out of the wand. "A fine wand and it matches you perfectly," Ollivander proclaimed.

Exiting the shop with their new wands, Harry and Hermione at last felt like a wizard and a witch. Jane and Dan beamed at them proudly. McGonagall led them over to Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlor for a treat. McGonagall let slip that it was Harry's birthday today, and the Grangers wished him a happy birthday.

The Grangers insisted on treating Harry and Minerva and they sat down to a delicious sundae each with a sampling of a dozen of the shop's flavours.

Harry and Hermione continued to talk quietly amongst themselves. Both seemed quite comfortable with the other and decided they'd like to be friends. Harry had never had a friend before and Hermione confided she didn't have any either.

"What are you going to call your owl, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I read a book once and came across a name that I liked. I'll call her Hedwig. What about your cat?"

"Hedwig. That's a pretty name. I think I'll call mine Crookshanks."

"Crookshanks? That's an unusual name," replied Harry.

"Well he is a bit bow-legged and the name just seems to fit. What do you think Crookshanks?" Hermione asked the part Kneezle.

A loud purr answered her, as Crookshanks settled in her arms. Leaving Diagon Alley at last, they drove back to the Granger's home. Harry didn't want the day to end, but at last he and McGonagall bid goodbye, with a promise from Hermione's parents that they would visit him soon.

…………

**Dursley residence: Aug 1st**

After the excellent day he had yesterday, Harry wanted more. His relatives now treated Harry with a bit more respect, although Uncle Vernon avoided him as much as possible. Dudley was just plain scared and would run as soon as Harry entered the room.

Harry snickered at this. It was as close to payback time as he could imagine. Vernon had also given Harry Dudley's spare bedroom. It was quite small and filled with Dudley's cast off junk, but it was bigger than his old cupboard. Dudley had whined about the loss of his spare room, but Vernon had been firm. He didn't want that old witch coming back any time soon.

Harry, on the other hand, couldn't wait to start school. He also hoped that Hermione would visit soon.

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office:**

"Really, Minerva," Albus Dumbledore complained, "did you really have to interfere?"

"Albus! You should have seen the conditions that Mr. Potter lived in. I warned you when you placed him there that they were the worst sort of muggles. Harry would not have been properly introduced to the magical world if I hadn't seen to it."

"Hagrid was supposed to take care of that," Albus returned.

"Oh, Hagrid would have fit right in with the muggles!" she snorted. "He's even less equipped to deal with muggles than most wizards. And what would people say when they saw a half giant walking about?"

"Nevertheless, Hagrid would not have taken Harry to see Miss Granger. That set a bad example. He should have been introduced to the Weasley family instead. At least they're Purebloods."

"Albus!" Surely you aren't that bigoted!"

"My dear, all I'm trying to say, is that the Weasley's are more likely to show Harry what a wizarding family is like."

"Poppycock! Albus, Miss Granger is one of the smartest witches I've seen for her age. As you know, we keep a close monitor on all magical children before they attend Hogwarts and her school grades are tops in all subjects."

"But she's a Muggleborn, Minerva. She knows nothing about our world. There are those that will try to bully her for being who she is. Smart doesn't mean a thing to some Purebloods, only bloodlines."

"And you seem to agree, Albus. What about young Mr. Potter? He's a half blood, his mother was Muggleborn."

"Yes, well, Harry's a special case. His destiny lies with the Purebloods."

Minerva gasped at this side of the headmaster. "So you've shown your true colours then. You'll find that Purebloods are in the minority in the wizarding world now. Halfbloods are more numerous and Muggleborns are becoming more common. You'd best not dismiss them as casually as you seem to be doing. I predict Miss Granger will be an excellent student and Mr. Potter seems to agree. In fact they seem to have hit it off quite well."

Albus pondered this for a brief moment before dismissing his deputy. Privately, he thought he'd keep a close eye on Miss Granger to make sure she didn't have too great an influence on Mr. Potter. After all, his destiny was already set. He'd have to have a talk with Molly Weasley.

…………

**Granger residence, Aug. 10th:**

"Hermione, are you ready yet?" her mother called.

"Yes Mum, I'll be down in a minute."

She bounded down the stairs, skipping the last three steps.

"Did you telephone Harry to let him know we're visiting today?"

"Of course, dear. His Aunt answered and seemed a bit hostile until I mentioned we were dentists and fully capable of caring for Harry. I asked if he could stay with us for the rest of the month until school starts and she seemed only too glad to get rid of him. Odd!"

"Harry told me a little bit about his home life and it didn't sound too good," Hermione replied. "I'm so excited to have him stay with us. We got along great; he's my first real friend."

Jane was sad for a moment, remembering how hard it was for her daughter to make friends. Many were the times she would come home from school with tears in her eyes from some insult her classmates had taunted her with. Her instant friendship with Harry Potter was a good change in her life. He seemed intelligent and well mannered. Maybe she wouldn't be a lonely girl any longer.

Dan quickly drove them the sixty some odd kilometres to Little Winging. As they approached Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry could be seen working in the yard. Apparently his relatives had not told him they would be by today.

"Harry," Hermione called, as soon as the car stopped.

Harry whipped around in surprise at the familiar voice. "Hermione," he exclaimed warmly. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't your Aunt tell you? We're here to pick you up and take you to our home for the rest of the holidays," Hermione told him.

"Uh, no. She just told me to mow the lawn and weed the garden. When did you talk to her?"

Jane answered, "Just this morning. She seemed a bit off, but she agreed to let you come with us. She seemed… well never mind. Do you have all your things? School books and what not, and your clothes?"

"Well, it'll take me a few minutes, but I'll be out shortly," he smiled.

"Have you finished weeding the garden and mowing the lawn, boy?" Vernon asked sharply.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon, the Grangers are here to pick me up. Why didn't you tell me they were coming?"

"I wanted to make sure your chores were done first. Heaven knows why they'd take a freak like you."

Grumbling at the unfairness of living with these sour people, Harry quickly assembled his possessions and practically ran out the door.

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office:**

Far away in the headmaster's office, a silver instrument puffed a bit of grey smoke, but since Albus was visiting the Weasley's, it went un-noticed. The grey smoke continued, changing colour to black until it finally stopped altogether.

**The Dursley's:**

After Harry left, Albus showed up at the Dursley's intending to whisk him off to The Burrow. Imagine his surprise when Vernon told him that Harry had left an hour ago. He didn't know where he had gone but was glad to be rid of him.

"Some dentists came and picked him up. I didn't see them but they telephoned first. Petunia answered the telephone. Seemed to know him, I forget their names."

Albus was furious. "You just let Harry go with someone you don't even know? You don't even remember their names? Stupid man! What did I tell you in my letter when I left him here years ago? He. Was. Not. To. Leave! Do you know what you have done? All my efforts will be for naught if he doesn't return here."

"Why should we care?" Vernon retorted. He's a freak! We never asked to be left with him."

Petunia ventured timidly behind Vernon. "I remember she said her name was Granger. We let him go because they sounded like respectable people."

Vernon glared at his wife, silently wishing she'd kept her yap shut. If the boy were found, he'd probably be returned to them.

"Did it ever occur to you that I placed him here for a reason? Petunia is his only blood relative and hence I was able to construct wards to protect him here."

"Well, I for one, don't care if we never see him again!" roared Vernon, slamming the door in Dumbledore's face.

'_What incredibly rude people: I can't have that happen,'_ he thought and apparated inside the house, causing Petunia to faint in fright. "Obliviate!" Albus said, pointing his wand at Vernon and Petunia. _'Now to place a new memory in them, one that will accept Harry back,'_ he smiled to himself.

"Enervate." And Petunia awoke, worried that Harry was gone. Vernon was more resistant and only pretended to be worried.

"Now, when I locate Harry, I will be sending him to some friends**'** place for the rest of the summer. You are not to worry." The mild compulsion charm did work properly and a smile settled on their faces.

Leaving the Dursley's, he apparated to the Granger residence. Unfortunately, no one was there.

Growing impatient, he left a charm disguised as a ball that would notify him when they arrived, then returned to the castle.

**Hogwarts:**

In his office, he finally noticed one of his silver instruments was strangely quiet. It should have been emitting at bit of white smoke. Then he noticed the instruments around that one had black soot on them.

"No! It can't be. The tracking charm on Harry has broken. He could be anywhere and I won't be able to find him. This is bad, that charm was supposed to be unbreakable."

As the hours went by, the charm that he left at the Granger's failed to activate. Albus was getting worried. First his tracking charm broke and now this. Was he in fact at the Granger's now? He'd have to check. He apparated back to the Granger's, but the house was dark. Apparently they hadn't returned. Frustrated, he vowed to resume the search in the morning. Already he could feel a headache starting.

**The Granger's:**

Little did he know that they had indeed returned and had left again to take in a movie. The charm Albus had left, had been picked up by a stray dog and carried away as a new toy. After chewing on it for awhile, the dog had accidentally dropped it down a drain and it had washed away.

After the movie, the Grangers and Harry ate dinner in a nice restaurant and then returned home.

"Harry, you will be staying in one of the spare bedrooms," Dan informed him, leading Harry to a nice bedroom next to Hermione's.

"Thank you for having me sir, this is much nicer than at my relatives place."

"You're welcome Harry. Hermione has so few friends, we felt that having you here would help her overcome her shyness. She really seems to like you, as do we," Dan beamed.

Harry was at a loss for words, finally stuttering, "T-that's kind of you to say, sir, Hermione is the first friend I've ever had as well."

"Harry, how do you like your room?" Hermione gushed. "Of course it's not fancy or anything, but it's just like mine."

"It's brilliant, Hermione. If you saw what I had for a room at the Dursley's, you'd think this was a castle!"

"Really? Oh, Harry, it couldn't be that bad," she teased.

Harry lowered his eyes and mumbled something.

"Pardon? I didn't quite catch what you said," Hermione replied.

"I said, it's actually much worse than you can imagine," he said quietly.

After a long talk, in which Harry detailed much of his life up to that point, Hermione was in tears. "How could those…those dreadful people treat you like that?"

"Well, they always called me a freak. Things just seemed to happen around me," he related sadly. "I now know it was accidental magic. My uncle especially hates magic and calls it unnatural. My Aunt isn't too bad, but she's afraid of my uncle, so she goes along with whatever he says."

"Well, that's…ooh…so wrong. Just forget it Harry, you won't have to see them until next June. I guess we should go to sleep now, I'm sure you're as tired as I am."

Dan had been listening to this conversation and determined to do something about it. He didn't know just what, but he'd make sure that Harry had a better life from now on. Perhaps a visit to his solicitor would be in order.

………..


	3. Chapter 3 Hide & Seek

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M for language and later violence.

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Hide and Seek**

**The Grangers: Sunday Aug. 11th 1991**

The morning sun shone in the bedroom window at the Granger's, awakening Harry. Rubbing his eyes, he remembered where he was and smiled. He could already hear the Grangers up and about, as a soft knock on his door brought him fully awake.

"Harry," a soft voice called. "Are you awake yet?"

"Just a minute. Is that you Hermione?"

"Yes, sleepyhead, I've been up for almost an hour."

Harry could almost see her smile and did hear it in her voice. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

She kept talking to him through the door while he quickly dressed. "Hurry, we're going shopping. Breakfast is almost ready."

"But I thought we went shopping yesterday," Harry queried, now confused.

"Silly, that was for our school stuff. Surely you want something for everyday. Those clothes you wear are miles too big for you, and those trainers! Ugh!"

Harry cringed a bit when she mentioned his clothes. Aunt Petunia made him wear Dudley's hand-me-downs. Considering the whale was about three sizes larger than Harry, he had taken to wrapping his belt around twice to hold up his baggy trousers and taping his trainers to keep them from falling apart. Now, he realised, he could afford something better.

Exiting his room, he told her, "Um, I don't know anything about shopping, Hermione, Aunt Petunia never took me, I always got my cousin's old clothes."

"That's disgusting, Harry. Well, we can do better than that."

After a delicious breakfast of pancakes, sausages and toast, Harry, Hermione and her Mum set out for downtown Cambridge. Dan had to work that day, an emergency dental surgery on one of his patients.

Before he left, he took Harry aside and warned him, "Don't let these two fool you. They'll shop all day if you let them." He smiled and wished him luck. "You'll need it to keep your sanity when they start shopping."

Mrs Granger said, as he was leaving, "We'll take the train, Dan. Perhaps you can meet us for dinner later."

Harry grinned. He reckoned he could resist a pair of girls shopping. He didn't know how very wrong he was.

Six and a half hours later, Harry was definitely dragging. Jane and Hermione looked like they had just started, but finally admitted that they had done reasonably well. Harry sported no less than six new complete changes of clothes, including four new pairs of shoes. He had somehow lost his old clothes in the whirl of stores and fittings. The outfit he was now wearing, fit him like a glove: black polo shirt, tight black trousers and black Adidas. He was still a skinny kid, but at least he looked much better. They had stopped at an eye doctor and had new prescription glasses fitted. Harry was surprised at how much better he could see.

It was getting late, so Jane called her husband to meet them in Cambridge for supper at Loch Fyne. They often ate at Cotto, it was one of the best places in Cambridge, but it was closed on Sunday.

Dan met them for dinner and they had a wonderful meal. Harry tried the Pan-fried salmon, with Hermione opting for Grilled halibut. Dan and Jane had prime Highland sirloin steaks. Dan ordered two glasses of wine for himself and Jane. Harry and Hermione had Perrier. After dessert, they headed home. Dan drove with Harry and Hermione in the back seat of the BMW.

* * *

**The Burrow:**

"Molly," Arthur Weasley called. "Didn't Albus say he was bringing Harry Potter here last evening?"

"Yes he did, Arthur. I'll have to floo call him to see what happened. I'm sure he'd have let us know if it was anything serious, though I do wonder why he didn't let us know they weren't coming. That is so unlike him."

Throwing in some floo powder, Molly called "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts" and stuck her head in the green flames.

"Good afternoon Molly. I presume you are wondering why I haven't brought young Mr. Potter over yet?"

"Is anything wrong, Albus?"

"No, no, just a slight delay, I've been busy and haven't had a chance to retrieve him yet," Albus lied smoothly. "I'll let you know. You remember what we talked about, Molly. Mr. Potter is to be shown what a proper Pureblood family is like. I understand young Ginny talks about him all the time. Perhaps you can have them spend time together..."

Molly saw where this was going, and thought it a splendid idea. Ginny wasn't going to Hogwarts for another year yet, but she seemed fixated on The Boy Who Lived. Molly knew that his parents were wealthy and an early start on a relationship with her daughter would be perfect. Maybe Ron could help push them together. Surely Harry would be in Gryffindor, and all her family had been in Gryffindor. They had years to make this happen, but was certain they could.

After ending the floo call to Albus, Molly called Ginny down…

* * *

**Hogwarts, ****Headmaster**'**s**** office:**

'_Damn,'_ Albus thought. _'Where are they?'_ He had checked the Granger's house as soon as he got up this morning, but there was still nobody there. Well, there was a cat and an owl, but it seemed that the Grangers and Harry were nowhere to be found. It was Sunday, so her parents couldn't be at work. He checked later, but no one. And five hours later still yielded no success.

He still couldn't figure out why his tracking instrument broke. Something was very odd here. He examined the broken instrument once again, trying to determine what went wrong. Prodding and poking at it with his wand produced results, just not the ones he expected, for the silver instrument suddenly melted into a silver blob.

"SHITE!" Now he had no idea what had happened. That wasn't supposed to happen, he hadn't even cast a spell on the instrument. 'Wait a minute,' he thought. 'It's as if the enchantment has broken completely. Now that's interesting. I cast that enchantment myself. For an enchantment to break… Hmmm, now why would an enchantment break, I wonder? They're supposed to be permanent, unlike a charm or transfiguration.'

Albus continued to ponder the destroyed instrument, until finally giving up to concentrate on the real problem: Just where were Harry and the Granger's?

Of course, at this point, he could not know it was just happenstance that he kept missing them. That was about to change, but not in his favour.

"Minerva?" he called on the internal Hogwarts floo network.

McGonagall poked her head through the Headmaster's fireplace. "Yes Albus?"

"Could you step in here a moment, please?"

Minerva stepped through the green flames, vanished the small amount of soot with a quick wand wave, and sat down facing the Headmaster.

"Minerva, I'm unable to locate Harry or the Grangers. I was going to send Harry to The Burrow to meet the Weasleys. Molly would like to introduce Harry to Ginny. I'm sure they'll hit it off right away. It'll be good for him to associate with a Pureblood family and Ginny would be a good match for the boy.

"When did you last see the Grangers and Harry?" he asked.

"Well, I last saw Harry when I dropped him off at his relatives place. Surely you're not going to meddle in Harry's life to the extent I think you are?"

"It's for the greater good, Minerva. He needs to be associated with a Pureblood family. I've already arranged with Molly to take Harry in for the rest of the summer, but he's disappeared. The Grangers have seemingly gone as well. My instrument for tracking Harry has broken, so I can't use that, and the charm I left at the Granger's doesn't work as well. Very strange."

McGonagall had a very bad feeling about this. If Albus was still following his absurd Pureblood ideas, she was going to have to interfere in his meddling again. It was just by chance that she had realised that Albus was going to send Hagrid to retrieve Mr. Potter. Fortunately, she short-circuited that plan. Mr. Potter seemed to get along very well with Miss Granger and she was going to see that Albus didn't try to break up that friendship. Keeping quiet, while planning her next move would be the best thing to do. She would warn them; all she had to do was find them. Harry's new owl Hedwig seemed inordinately smart, perhaps she could summon her for a plan that was forming in her mind.

* * *

**The Granger's, Monday morning, Aug. 12th:**

Harry noticed that Hedwig was gone. He had let her out that morning to hunt and thought she'd return by now. He had awoken early today like he was used to at the Dursleys.

"A tap, tap, on his window a few minutes later and Harry was relieved to see Hedwig waiting to get in. He opened the window and she flew up to his shoulder. A letter was attached to her leg, which he quickly removed. His first owl post! The store manager had mentioned about owl post but Harry had not thought that he'd ever receive one. After all, no one knew he was here.

Opening the parchment, he was astonished to see it was from Professor McGonagall. He quickly scanned it and his jaw dropped. He had to see Hermione.

He quickly exited the bedroom and knocked lightly on Hermione's door. "Hermione," he called softly, not wanting to wake her parents.

She opened her door, looking rumpled from just waking up. She covered her mouth, yawning widely. "Excuse me, Harry, it's a bit early, what's up?"

"Hedwig's been gone all night and just returned with a letter from Professor McGonagall. I thought we should read it together since it's addressed to both of us."

Hermione scanned the letter and gasped. "That Headmaster can't do that to us! He's trying to break us apart. Why would he… OH! That's disgusting!" she practically shouted as she re-read part of the letter. "Harry, he's trying to meddle in our lives. Who is this 'Ginny Weasley' anyway?"

"Dunno," Harry answered. "I've never met anyone with that name, but it does sound as if he's trying to control us, me in particular."

"Look, she says that he's been looking for us. Good thing we were away all day yesterday. I'll have to tell my parents about this. He can't be allowed to take you."

"I won't go! I like it here. I like your mum and dad; I like you! What shall we do?"

"Come on, maybe my parents are up by now. They have to go to work today."

Quickly dressing, they made their way downstairs where Dan and Jane were just getting breakfast ready. "Hello you two. Did you sleep well?" Jane asked.

"Yes, thank you," they chorused. "Mum, Dad, we need to talk to you. It's important. Look at this letter Harry just received from Professor McGonagall."

"A letter, this early? The post isn't due for hours yet." Dan proclaimed.

"Harry's owl**,** Hedwig**,** brought it."

Jane read the letter and scowled. "That's not right. He has no business doing that. Look at this Dan," she exclaimed, as she handed the letter to her husband.

Jane's scowl was nothing compared to the thunderous look that appeared on Dan's face. "I won't have it! Who does he think he is? McGonagall says he'll likely try to find Harry again today. Well, not if I can help it. We're leaving! Call the office Jane, leave a message to cancel our appointments."

"Really?" Jane asked. "You think he'll just force Harry to go? How can he do that? Harry, do you want to stay here with us?"

"Yes!" Harry answered forcefully. I like you three, especially Hermione. She's the first friend I've ever had!"

"Then it's settled. We don't know what he's capable of doing. We don't know enough about magic. Maybe he can… I don't know, change our minds without our knowledge."

Hermione had been silent up to that point. "I'm sure he could. I've been reading since I got my books, especially the one about the Dark Arts. There's a spell to wipe a memory from your mind called Obliviate. It's used by the Ministry of Magic to make people forget, especially Muggles, when they don't want them to know about magic."

Jane had finished calling the office and suggested they pack for a week. "You'd better take Crookshanks and Hedwig as well.

They all went upstairs to pack and Dan had driven them well away from the town by the time Dumbledore arrived to check again.

'_Still gone! Where could they be?'_ Albus thought. After checking the Granger's office and questioning their secretary, he noted that they had called in to cancel their appointments for the day. They hadn't given a reason, so perhaps they went for an outing for the day. He'd check later. Meanwhile, he was getting frustrated. _'I need to get Harry acquainted with Ginny. He needs to develop a bond with her before school starts. Time is short now. Perhaps a compulsion spell when I find him… Yes, that should work. I'll have to Obliviate Miss Granger and probably her parents as well. Miss Granger could be paired with another Muggleborn. That should solve the problem nicely'._

_

* * *

_

**Somewhere in Suffolk county, near Ipswich:**

Dan had been driving for hours and finally decided that Ipswich was far enough away for now. He re-read Harry's letter and decided they needed help from Professor McGonagall. He was a little leery of anything to do with the school, but Hermione and Harry trusted McGonagall

"Harry, when we stop for the evening, could you send your owl to Professor McGonagall again. She suggested we contact her as soon as we were away from home."

"Of course sir. Will she be able to help us? I don't fancy going to Hogwarts only to be under that man's control."

"I'm sure the Professor will have an idea. She seems a very talented witch."

Harry smiled when he remembered what she did at the Dursley's. He thought she was a very talented witch indeed.

Hermione smiled as well. The good Professor had shown exceptional loyalty to them. She would trust her to help them through this mess. She really wanted to go to school, but she wanted Harry to be safe as well. She was glad she had bought those extra books now, they may well come in very handy. Harry and she would have to be careful about using magic since McGonagall had warned them that as underage magical children, their wands could be tracked.

"Harry, remember what McGonagall said about our wands? That the Ministry could track any magic we performed with them. I wonder if there's a way to remove that tracking. We may need to use magic at some point."

"I don't think we're powerful enough to do anything yet, Hermione. We also don' t know much except what we've read, and I think that could be dangerous. But we can ask Professor McGonagall about that. By the way, I felt an odd release the other day when we went to the cinema, almost as if something let go of me. Did you feel anything?"

"No, Harry. I wonder if you had a tracking charm or something like that on you? I read about something like that last night. That might make sense, since the Headmaster seems so interested in you. Maybe it broke. That would be good. It would make it harder for him to find us."

Harry and Hermione were now certain that the Headmaster had something in mind for Harry. Just what it was, they didn't know. "I'm just a boy, why am I important to him," he asked.

"You do realise you're famous, don't you. At least three of my books have you in them."

"I'm famous? Just because I lived?"

"Of course, Harry. Nobody had ever lived when hit by the killing curse before. To have it rebound and destroy Voldemort, made you famous. I still can't figure out why the Headmaster thinks he has to control you though. I mean, after all, Voldemort is dead, so why should he care…

Hermione gasped as a thought occurred to her. "Y-you don't suppose he d-didn't really die, do you? He was supposed to be really powerful. Could he come back? After all, the killing curse didn't kill you. Ooh, I hope that's not what the Headmaster thinks!"

"Hermione! Relax, we don't know what goes on in the old buzzard's head. He's supposed to be really old. Maybe he's gone senile."

"Harry, you don't understand. Wizards and witches live much longer than ordinary folks. He's supposed to be over 150 years old and still runs the school. How likely would that be in normal society?"

Dan interrupted at this point. "He still could be a bit batty, Hermione, he can't live forever. In any case, I've contacted my solicitor. We'll see how much influence he has against the British Government. Crandall and Burke are among the best solicitors in Britain. I was lucky to have run across them years ago when I mustered out of the Army. Walter Crandall owes me a favour from those days. A restraining order might get Mr. Dumbledore's attention. The law firm has lots of tricks up their sleeves."

"Dan, where are we going?" Jane asked.

"The Salthouse Harbour Hotel in Ipswich. A friend recommended it as a nice upscale hotel. I checked before we left and they have three rooms reserved for us. You and I will be in one room, Hermione will be in the second room and Harry in the other. We should be there shortly. Harry, can you let Professor McGonagall know where we are? Is Hedwig secure enough to make sure only the professor knows?"

"I'm sure Hedwig is secure enough. She knew when Professor McGonagall wanted to warn us, I'm sure only she will see the letter we send. Owls are very intelligent and Hedwig seems to be exceptional."

Hedwig hooted in agreement.

They all laughed at that.

* * *

**Ipswich, Salthouse Harbour Hotel:**

After they arrived at the hotel and checked in, Harry sent Hedwig with a note to Professor McGonagall telling her their location and asking to meet with her.

They all went down for lunch after washing up in their rooms. Harry was pleased with his room; it had a nice view of the harbour and was right next door to Hermione's. In fact, the rooms connected, something the elder Grangers hadn't noticed, but Hermione did and pointed it out to Harry, giggling.

After a nice lunch, they retired to their rooms to relax and unwind after their rushed journey.

Harry was restless, however and left his room to wander down to the harbour. As he stepped from his room, Hermione joined him having had the same idea. She too**,** was restless and wanted company. Together they strolled down to the quay and watched the boats in the marina, talking and getting to know each other better. After an hour or so talking, walking and looking around, they had relaxed enough to finally return to their rooms for a light sleep.

It was late afternoon when Hedwig returned with a note from McGonagall. Harry had left a window open, and Hedwig had landed on a table, giving a soft hoot.

Startled, Harry awoke instantly, looking around. He spotted Hedwig with a note attached to her leg. Carefully removing it, he read it and quietly knocked on the connecting door to Hermione's room. A few minutes later, Hermione joined him in his room and he showed her the note.

"She says she can be here the day after tomorrow. That would be Wednesday. She says she has some news for us," Hermione read.

"I wonder what news she has? Maybe your dad's solicitor has contacted the Headmaster. I wonder how he'd do that? I think I read that Hogwarts doesn't show on any maps. Maybe she's convinced the Headmaster to leave us alone."

"I'm afraid we'll have to wait and see. Let's tell Mum and Dad, I think it must be time for dinner anyway."

They knocked on Hermione's parents**'** door and after they were let in, they showed them the note.

"It looks like we have tomorrow to ourselves then," Jane noted. "Dan, I saw some boats in the marina. I wonder if we can rent one for a tour?"

"Oh, that sounds like fun. Have you ever been on a boat Harry?" Dan asked.

"No, I've never been anywhere except one time to the zoo," Harry replied. He smirked as he remembered setting a snake on Dudley and his friend.

Hermione noticed and asked him what he was thinking that made him smile, so he told her the story.

"Y-you talked to a snake? And it answered you?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

"Well, yeah. It wasn't a big deal, but it sure scared Dudley when the protecting glass vanished and the snake got out."

"Y-you made the glass vanish? How did you do that?" Hermione asked, impressed.

"I dunno, it just vanished when I thought how neat it would be if the snake was free."

"Harry, it's a very rare gift to be able to talk to snakes. Vanishing the glass was very powerful magic, Harry. I wouldn't have been able to do it, and particularly without a wand. You could be a very powerful wizard in a few years."

Dan and Jane had been listening closely to Harry's story and were astounded that one so young was able to do that kind of magic. Dan was already thinking about seeing if they could adopt Harry and free him from those abusive relatives**.** From what Harry had told them, he had suffered greatly in his ten years with them. He'd ask his solicitor friend about that, and the sooner the better. Tomorrow he would call Walter. Best set this up before telling Harry. He wouldn't want Harry to get his hopes up before he found out if it was possible to adopt him. He told Jane and she agreed it would be nice to have Harry as an adopted son.

They all trooped down to a nice dinner in the hotel dining room. After eating and small talk, they retired for the night.

Harry and Hermione sat in Harry's room watching the tele and continuing to talk until both felt tired. Hermione had actually fallen asleep on Harry's shoulder and he was close to dozing off as well. Finally rousing her, he helped her to her room before returning, hastily undressed and tumbled into bed. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

HPEB

_A/N2: March 6, 2011, A few typos were corrected in this chapter and reposted._


	4. Chapter 4

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed.

**Chapter 4: Manoeuvrings**

**Cambridge; Crandall and Burke Law offices, Tuesday Aug. 13th:**

Walter Crandall looked up from the brief that he was preparing when the telephone rang.

"Walter Crandall," he answered. "Ah, Dan, my old friend." (pause) "Yes, I was just preparing a brief to present to the court requesting that restraining order you were talking about."

He listened for a few minutes before replying.

"That could work, I'll certainly see to it right away. That should help with the restraining order as well. I'll let you know as soon as possible. Where are you staying? Oh. Why there? Ah. He's being a bit of a git, is he? Yes, well, you and Jane take care. Don't let those children out of your sight. Yes, I understand, time becomes important now. Okay, I'll try to hurry it along, but you know the bureaucracy. I'll talk to you later, goodbye.

Walter rang off and thought for a few minutes. This could be tricky. _'I'd better talk to John Burke about this. I'm going to have to call in several__ favours if I want to get this done fast.'_

**Ipswich; Salthouse Harbour Hotel: **

Dan had not told Walter anything about the magical world and was wondering if he should, or even could. After Dan had spoken to Walter, the Grangers and Harry went down to breakfast. During the breakfast, Dan brought up the subject of his telephone call to Mr. Crandall.

"Harry, We know you've had a hard life and although we've just got to know you, Jane and I feel that we can be better parents than the Dursley's for you. We'd like to adopt you. Would you like that?" Dan had already started the process, so he was crossing his fingers that Harry would agree. It was a bit of a rash decision, considering they had not approached Harry first, but protecting Harry came before niceties of convention. When Harry didn't respond immediately, Dan and Jane grew worried. Hermione just sat there with her jaw hanging open in amazement that her parents would do something like that without consulting her.

Harry was stunned. Where had that come from? Adopt him? He wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's? Slowly he got used to the idea as he worked it over in his mind. Gradually, a smile grew on his face until it was a full grin.

Y-you'd adopt me? Really? That would be wonderful! I-I wouldn't have to go back to the Dursley's?" A tear of joy formed in his eye and soon he broke down completely, crying with joy.

Dan and Jane relaxed and they joined Hermione in a group hug. Hermione would later have words with her parents, but at the moment was deliriously happy for her best friend, soon to be her adopted brother.

After breakfast, during which Dan explained the steps he had taken to secure Harry's adoption, they walked the short distance to the marina. It looked to be a nice day. There was a light breeze in a cloudless sky. Perfect boating weather.

Harry still couldn't believe his luck. He would have loving parents at last, and his best friend would be his new sister.

After asking around the marina, Dan found a man willing to take them on a tour of the harbour. Jake was a salty old gentleman that looked the epitome of the experienced old time sailor that he probably was. Grizzled, with white hair and beard, he looked to be in his early sixties. A ready grin and welcoming handshake, and the deal was set. He would take them for a four hour cruise to see the sights and do a bit of fishing on the River Orwell.

They cruised the river, occasionally dipping their fishing gear into the water. Hermione and Jane caught two small Bass between them. Dan and Harry didn't catch anything. Jake laughed at the sour looks the man and boy gave the ladies.

"Beginners luck, lads. We'll have to throw them back anyway, they're undersize," Jake smiled.

Harry had a wonderful time in any case, and had his first look at the sea.

Afterwards, they strolled around the city, stopping at the local market to pick up souvenirs.

After a leisurely lunch, they continued to explore the city, stopping at various shops to browse. Hermione was the first to spot the new and used bookstore and dragged everyone in. Jane found a novel that promised to be a good read and Dan checked out the boating magazines. Harry was deeply absorbed in a book on what appeared to be magic. It was an old book, half hidden in the depths of the shop. Hermione was just coming out with a half dozen new books and was waiting patiently at the shop front to pay for them when Harry called.

"Hermione," he called. "Come have a look at this."

Wandering back, she saw Harry sitting cross-legged on the floor, pouring over a tattered old book. "What do you have there? It looks really old."

"It's called 'Magic and Enchantments'. It's a bit hard to read and some of the pages are loose. I think it's a real magic book. Let's see what the owner wants for it," he said excitedly.

"What would a book on magic be doing in a Muggle bookstore? Look at the date."

"It says 542, I think, or maybe 1542. It looks like it was hand written. There's no author given. This could be really valuable, Hermione."

Harry brought the book to the front counter and asked the price.

The shop owner looked through the book and looked puzzled. "But it's almost blank! Looks like it might have been the start of someone's diary. There's just a hazy bit of print on the cover and a couple of illegible lines on the first page. I don't remember acquiring this? Are you sure you want it?"

Harry and Hermione looked at the man quizzically. It wasn't blank to them, in fact it was full on very close and small writing.

"Yes, I'd like to purchase the volume," Harry stated.

"Alright, it's quite decrepit, so I'll only charge 10 pence."

"Done." Harry produced the coins and the shopkeeper provided a paper sack for the book.

Harry and Hermione looked at one another and grinned. A real bargain, they both thought.

Later at supper, they talked to Dan and Jane about the book.

"It's weird," Harry stated. "The book seems to be blank for anyone other than wizards or witches. There looks like some interesting material in there, but it's in really old English. Hermione is better at reading it than I am, but I'm sure it's authentic."

"There's spells and enchantments in there that must be forgotten by now," Hermione explained. "I haven't been able to decipher most of them, but I'm sure they're real."

"I wonder how that book wound up in that shop?" Dan mused. "Perhaps you should show it to Professor McGonagall when she arrives tomorrow."

"That's a good idea, Daddy. What do you think Harry?"

Harry thought about it for a minute before replying. "Maybe," he ventured. "I wouldn't want anyone else to know about this book, but I suppose we can trust the Professor. She's been very good to us. I just don't want the Headmaster to know about it. I have a feeling he'd try to confiscate it."

"Good thinking, Harry," Dan agreed. "Now, it's late and we've had a full day. It might be a good idea to head for bed. The Professor is coming tomorrow."

Hermione yawned and Harry followed sympathetically. "Yeah," they both agreed, "That sounds good."

They all said goodnight and headed for their rooms.

Hermione wanted to talk to her parents a bit, so they let her in their room. Harry headed off to bed.

"Mum, Dad! Why didn't you tell me that you were going to adopt Harry? Of course I'm thrilled with the idea, but you could have told me!" she stormed.

"Sweetie, it just came up while we were getting up this morning," Jane explained. "Your father had to act quickly in order to get the paperwork done before you went to school. We'll have to get Harry's guardians to sign off on him, but I suspect that won't be much of a problem. Mr. Crandall seems to think that it's a good idea and may get the Headmaster to leave Harry alone."

Hermione considered this for a minute. "You really do like him, don't you? It's not just pity for him, because he'd hate that."

"No Pumpkin," Dan assured her. "We really think Harry is a great kid. The fact that he made friends with you so quickly, tells me that he needs a loving stable home. He would be our ideal choice as a son if your mother could have another child."

"I can't bear another child, Hermione, the doctors told me you were lucky to have survived childbirth," Jane said sadly.

"Oh. Mum, you never told me that before."

"Well, it doesn't matter, sweetie, you were everything we wanted anyway. Now with Harry, it's perfect."

After a hug with her parents, Hermione went to her room, laying awake thinking about all that had happened today.

Harry, likewise tossed and turned, not able to sleep, excited, now that he'd soon be part of a wonderful family.

A quiet knock on the connecting door let him know that Hermione wanted to speak to him.

Opening the door, he spotted fresh tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, Hermione?"

"It's nothing, Harry, I'm just glad we'll be together now. Mum and Dad only made the decision to adopt you this morning and I wanted to be sure they really wanted you. I know I do, so I asked them. They're sure; they said they always wanted another child but couldn't have one and now they can with you."

"Do you think there will be any trouble with the authorities? I mean, it's a little strange to take me away from blood relatives and adopt me with what must look like strangers to them."

"Daddy is working with his solicitor and he tells me that he's the best. If it can be done, Mr. Crandall will do it. Daddy seems sure it'll happen. He wants your adoption completed before we start Hogwarts."

**Hogwarts; Headmasters office, Wednesday early morning, Aug. 14th:**

Minerva had entered the headmaster's office to tell Albus that she'd be away on personal business for a couple of days.

"You realise that the school opens September 2nd. That's only two and a half weeks away. Do you have all your lesson plans ready? Have you liaised with the other professors" Albus asked.

"Yes, Albus, everything's ready, all the new children have been notified and I've checked with the other teachers; they're ready as well. I really do have urgent pressing business to attend to."

"Very well. Oh, by the way, Harry Potter hasn't spoken to you again, has he?"

Minerva lied smoothly, "No Albus, I'll see you in a couple of days." Strictly speaking she wasn't lying; Hedwig was the intermediary.

Quickly returning to her quarters, she changed into Muggle clothes and left the castle, walking quickly to the gates. As soon as she was outside of the wards, she apparated to Ipswich. She had only been there once before, but she was sure it hadn't changed much in two years.

**Ipswich waterfront, minutes later:**

Locating the hotel on the waterfront, she entered and inquired which room the Grangers were in.

"Do you wish to ring them madam?" the desk clerk asked.

McGonagall replied that she would, and the clerk handed her a telephone and connected her.

Jane answered. "Hello, Jane Granger here."

"Good morning Mrs. Granger. This is Minerva McGonagall at the front desk. Will you be down or should I come up?"

Good Morning, Minerva. We'll be down in a minute. Would you like to join us for a late breakfast?"

"Thank you, that would be grand."

The Grangers and Harry appeared a few minutes later. Minerva noticed the change in Mr. Potter immediately. He seemed much happier and relaxed. Miss Granger also seemed happier. _'I wonder what has changed since I last saw them?'_ she thought.

"Good morning Professor," Harry and Hermione chorused together.

"Shall we go into the dining room, Professor?" Dan encouraged.

After they were seated and ordered breakfast, conversation turned to news from Hogwarts.

"I'm afraid the Headmaster has it firmly in his mind that Mr. Potter is to be paired with Miss Weasley. He's been very stubborn about this even though I've warned him not to interfere," McGonagall informed them.

"That's outrageous!" Jane and Dan said together. Dan continued, "He has no right to try to control Harry's life. Harry's much too young to even think of having a girlfriend."

Harry was about to disagree: he already had a girlfriend; Hermione, but a little voice inside his head told him not to say this to anyone just yet. He wasn't even sure Hermione would agree. Instead, he said, "Mr. Granger is right. I won't accept being told who I may associate with, and as for this Ginny Weasley, well, I don't even know her and right now, I'm inclined not to even want to meet her."

Hermione grinned when he said that. She was starting to have feelings for Harry that she was afraid to express, even to Harry.

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that, Mr. Potter. Miss Weasley will be starting Hogwarts next year, and I'm sure the Headmaster will try something to make sure the two of you pair up fairly early. We may have foiled his attempts to throw you two together this year, but make no mistake, he will think of a way to make it happen. It makes me sick to think that I looked up to him all these years without really knowing the man. We'll have to make a plan to make sure he doesn't have the opportunity.

"There are four other Weasley's in school this year, and I suspect at least one will try and influence you. All the Weasley's have been in Gryffindor House at school, so perhaps you won't be…" she suggested warily, unsure if Harry would take the hint.

Fortunately, Harry did. "You mean I might have a choice which House I'll be in?" Harry asked.

"The Sorting Hat looks into your mind and decides which House to place you in. Perhaps a little determination on your part…?"

"I'd want to be in the same House as Hermione," Harry stated flatly.

Hermione blushed at that. "Well, maybe we can avoid Gryffindor," she said hopefully.

"Since I'm head of Gryffindor House, I'd normally wish you to be in my House, but under the circumstances, perhaps that might not be a good idea. Still, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are good solid houses, and certainly Miss Granger could be expected to be placed there, Ravenclaw being the more likely of the two." Minerva hoped that Harry would be able to convince the Hat to place him with Miss Granger. Slytherin would be a disaster for them and Gryffindor might be able to be managed, but it wouldn't be easy.

"Now, for more immediate problems. Albus Dumbledore is still looking for Mr. Potter and will at least want him returned to the Dursley's," Minerva stated.

"Well that won't happen," Dan said forcefully. "We've taken steps to adopt Harry and I'm waiting to hear back from my solicitor with the proper papers."

Minerva gasped at this turn of events. "Are you sure you'll be able to? The Ministry of Magic may intervene if they find out before it's official. You'll have to keep this very quiet! Professor Dumbledore has great influence within the Ministry. He's head of the Wizengamot, our government. If he even suspects what you are doing, he'll force the issue and take custody of Mr. Potter himself. There would be no way to stop it. You must act swiftly!"

"My solicitor is very good and I'm sure the papers will arrive in the next day or two," Dan reiterated. He hoped this would be the case, but he was shaking inside.

"I won't go, if he does that!" Harry raged.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't have a choice in the matter, Mr. Potter. He could magically bind you to him and there would be no escape. You would be under his complete control. The only reason he hasn't done it so far, is he doesn't know where you are. The instrument he had tracking you broke the day you left your relatives place**.**, If he found you now, I'm almost sure that's what he'd do. Once you are legally adopted, he won't be able to change that. There are too many paper trails that he wouldn't be able to override. Get this done quickly, Mr. Granger and you may be able to thwart his plans."

"That was my plan, Professor. I urged my solicitor to proceed with all due haste."

Harry and Hermione were speechless at the power the Headmaster could wield. Hermione read that Albus Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard in Britain, if not in Europe, but she never realised that he also might be insane.

Harry was shaking with anger. _'How dare he! I'll never submit to him!'_ he thought.

Dan was thinking furiously and finally came up with a plan. "What if we were to leave Britain?" he asked tentatively. "If we were outside his jurisdiction, he wouldn't be able to touch Harry."

"But we need to go to school, Hermione wailed.

"Surely there are other magical schools?" Jane asked.

"Well, there are two others in Europe. Beauxbatons in France and Durmstrang in Bulgaria. You'd have to learn another language unless you went to America or Australia, where there are also good schools," Minerva informed them.

"Well, Hermione already speaks passable French. Harry would have a problem though," Dan told them.

"Sorry, I don't speak either language. What about private tutors?" Harry asked.

"That might work," Minerva pondered. "You could take French lessons during the next few weeks. I know a person that can teach you French magically. It'll be a bit painful, since we're dealing with force feeding the mind, but it would give you the opportunity to attend one of the better schools. Of course, Hogwarts is considered the premier school, but Beauxbatons is very well run."

"I'll have to get Harry a passport," Dan remembered. "Ah, can't do that until he's adopted!"

Just then, the desk clerk came to their table. "Mr. Granger, there's an urgent call for you. You may take it at the front desk."

"Please excuse me," Dan apologised. Walking to the front desk, he picked up the telephone. "This is Dan Granger."

"Good morning Dan, Walter Crandall here. I have those papers ready for you. You'll have to get the Dursley's to sign and then I'll have to file with the court. I've already obtained affidavits from neighbours supporting the deplorable conditions Mr. Potter has been forced to endure. It should be through the courts in a matter of days if you can get Petunia Dursley at least to sign the papers, preferably Vernon Dursley as well**,** although Petunia Dursley is his direct relative."

"Splendid Walter. I'll drive up myself and see that the papers are signed. I don't want young Harry exposed to them if I can help it. One thing, Walter, can you arrange a passport for Harry? I'll supply the photographs for the passport. We're thinking of taking the family to France for awhile until this thing cools down. Be sure not to let any of this leak. Mr. Dumbledore is very powerful and would seize him if he got wind of this."

"Mum's the word Dan. You know I can't divulge confidential information. Be very careful what you say to the Dursley's. Mr. Dumbledore may have tried to influence them."

"I'd better take a certain friend with me then. Thanks Walter, I'll see you in a couple of hours."

After ringing off, Dan returned to their table with a smile on his face. "Good news, that was Walter Crandall, our solicitor. He tells me he has the papers ready. I'll have to get the Dursley's to sign off on Harry and I'm afraid I may need your help Minerva. Walter warned me that Mr. Dumbledore may have tried to influence the Dursley's. I'll need you to ascertain if they've been tampered with. Also, Harry, I'll need a couple of photographs of you for your passport. Walter will push the application through and we should be good to go in a couple of days. Jane, you, Hermione and Harry are to stay here until we get back. Will you be able to help us Minerva?"

"Certainly Dan, I'll be only too happy to help. I may join you in France as well. I'm not too happy with Albus at this time. I won't promise when, but I'll see if I can arrange something in a few months. If Albus has tampered with the Dursley's, I may be able to reverse what he's done."

"Shall we get going then?" Dan asked. "Let's get Harry's picture taken first."

Later, after Dan and McGonagall had left for Cambridge, Jane, Hermione and Harry spent a bit more time shopping. After all, if they were going to France, they would need all kinds of things. Besides anything like that was a good excuse for shopping to the two ladies.

…………


	5. Chapter 5

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed.

**Chapter 5: Dealing With the Dursley's**

**#4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, noon, Wednesday Aug. 14th:**

Dan had picked up the papers from Walter Crandall while Minerva had stayed in the BMW. Driving to Little Whinging from Cambridge, they headed for the Dursley's and knocked on the door.

"Odd, I don't sense any wards here, I'm sure there were wards when I picked up Harry before," Minerva pondered.

Shouting could be heard inside, along with sounds of breaking glass. Becoming alarmed, Minerva stepped forward and opened the door, wand drawn. The sight that beheld their eyes was astonishing. Vernon was towering over Petunia with his meaty fist raised. Petunia was cowering and had obvious bruises on her face.

"Mr. Dursley!" Minerva shouted. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"'Mm just teaching 'm wife a leshon," he slurred. "What d'you freaks want?"

Petunia whimpered and scuttled away.

Minerva raised her wand, "Petrificus Totalis!" she said and Vernon froze where he was.

"Now, Mrs. Dursley, are you hurt?"

She squeaked, feeling the bruises and shook her head. "N-no, not this time. V-Vernon has been coming home early, drunk and since Harry isn't here to beat on, he takes his meanness out on me. Thank God Dudley is visiting his Aunt Marge, or he'd see this. He'd never hurt Dudley, of course, but he used to have a go at young Harry quite often. W-what are you doing here?"

"We've come to get you and Mr. Dursley to sign some papers, releasing Harry to us," Dan provided. "We intend to adopt him."

"W-we c-can't a-allow t-that." She seemed to be struggling to get the words out.

Minerva cast a suspicious look at her and decided that something was wrong. _'Perhaps Albus has put her under the Imperius curse,'_ she thought. "Finite Incatatum!" she said as she waved her wand at Petunia and Vernon.

Vernon immediately sank to the floor with his head in his hands. "What have I done?" he wailed. "Pet, I'm sorry, I-I…"

"That's it Vernon! I'm shot of you. You say that every time. I'm leaving and if you know what's good for you, you'll sign those papers. I know I will! You'll hear from my solicitor!

"Where do I sign?" Petunia asked. "Poor Harry, I hated to treat him as horribly as I did, but Vernon would have beat me if I didn't.

Dan produced the papers and she signed them. Vernon reluctantly signed as well, feeling the glare from Minerva. "Now, Mrs. Dursley, are you sure you'll be alright or would you like us to drive you somewhere?"

"Could you, please? I don't want to stay here. All my relatives are dead, but I have a friend that lives not far."

"No problem," Dan answered. "We'll wait for you to gather some things to take with you."

Fifteen minutes later, Petunia left a stunned Vernon Dursley. He never thought his wife would have the backbone to leave him. It looked like a nasty divorce was in his future. And what about Dudders? He'd have to fight tooth and nail to keep him.

Dan and Minerva dropped Petunia off at her friends' house after a short drive across town. Now all they had to do was return to Cambridge to drop off the papers to Walter and see if Harry's passport was there. He doubted the government would move that quickly, but with each passing day, their safety became more precarious.

It wouldn't take Dumbledore long to figure out what happened if he visited the Dursley's. Minerva wished there was a way to keep herself unnoticed by Albus, but the beating of Petunia, precluded that. He would quickly discover that the Imperius curse had been lifted and her description by Vernon would seal her fate.

"I'd better prepare to come with you directly, Mr. Granger, Albus Dumbledore will surely discover what we've done. We're both in danger now."

"Please call me Dan. I feel we know each other as friends now. You've been so helpful, and I know we couldn't have done this without you."

"Fine, you may call me Minerva," she answered with a rare smile. "You've surprised me with the way you and Jane have taken charge of this mess. I would never have believed the compassion and love you've shown to a boy you hardly know."

"A month ago, I was starting to think about this. Harry's the first person my daughter has made friends with. I won't let some nut ruin that for her. Harry's the gentlest, kindest boy I've met."

"You're taking a great risk with him, you know. Many in our world would deny you the right to adopt him. If it weren't for Hermione, I would never have introduced the two of them. I sensed immediately that Harry needed someone to stabilise his life**; **a friend, if you will. The fact that Hermione is so smart and needed a friend as well decided it for me. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore has other ideas. Ideas I don't agree with. I think I'll apply for a position at Beauxbatons, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on those two. I have no family, so I have no qualms about leaving. I will miss the other professors though."

**Cambridge, late afternoon:**

As they travelled east, the time slipped by and by the time they had returned to Cambridge, it was almost closing time for the law office. Fortunately, Walter was still there waiting for them. Dan introduced Minerva as a friend of the family, handed the signed papers over**,** and asked about the passport.

"Well, I've been able to get a temporary travel permit, but the passport will have to wait until the adoption is finalised." He handed over the document and made several copies of the papers that Dan had given him. "That's in case someone tries to 'interfere' before this goes through. I'm sealing these in a safe place and will forward them tomorrow by courier. I expect you should be able to call Harry son in two weeks. How may I reach you? You mentioned that you might be leaving the country."

Dan replied. "I don't dare tell you until we've arrived**,** so I'll ring you when we get there."

"You think that it's not safe to tell your attorney?" Walter sounded offended.

"Walter, we are dealing in matters you have no concept of. It's best this way. The less you know, the safer we'll be. I'll tell you after this is all settled."

"All right Dan, mum's the word."

Dan and Minerva left right away, and arrived in Ipswich a few hours later. The traffic had been quite heavy making the trip longer than expected.

**Ipswich, early evening:**

"Harry, we forgot to tell Professor McGonagall about the book!" Hermione reminded him.

"Yeah, things got a bit crazy there. We also forgot to ask her about tracking our wands. I'd like to be able to practice some of the spells we've been reading about."

"They should have been back by now," Jane worried. "I hope nothing's happened."

An hour later, Dan and Minerva arrived. "You wouldn't believe the traffic! What a nightmare," Dan complained.

Minerva smirked. "It wouldn't have been so bad if you'd allowed me to apparate us both."

"No, Hermione read about that and it sounded distinctly uncomfortable. I like to keep my feet on something solid, thank you very much."

The first thing Dan did was hug Harry. "They signed, Harry! In a couple of weeks you'll be our adopted son!"

Harry was beside himself with happiness. Grinning wildly, he hung on to Dan, then Jane and Hermione joined in. Tears of joy filled his eyes and soon everyone was blinking back tears. Even Minerva had a suspicious glisten to her eyes.

Dan and Minerva filled in Jane, Hermione and Harry on what happened at the Dursley's. Minerva mentioned to Harry that the wards seemed to be gone from the house.

"I wonder if that had anything to do with the odd feeling I had when I left," Harry wondered.

"That might be the same time Dumbledore's tracking device failed as well," Minerva added. "Curious."

"You said that Aunt Petunia has left Uncle Vernon? Wow, I never would have believed that! She treated me almost as badly as he did."

"Well, I don't blame her after seeing the bruises he gave her," McGonagall huffed. "I wanted to heal her, but I was afraid that more magic would have attracted too much attention. As it was, I'm surprised that the Ministry didn't pick up on it. Wait, the wards were broken, I wonder if that's all that broke? The enchantments should not have been able to break."

"That reminds me, Professor," Harry interjected. "I found an old book in a bookstore the other day. It has something to do with enchantments."

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," McGonagall replied, her eyebrows raising. "May I see it later?"

"Of course, Professor. Oh, and can you do something about the tracking on our wands? We'd like to practice magic before we start school."

"Yes I can, but not here. You are to remain as invisible as possible to the Wizarding World until we can get you to France. I've decided to join you immediately to forestall a nasty confrontation with the Headmaster. He is a master Legilimens and would find you right away."

"Legilimens?" Harry inquired.

"That means he can read minds, Harry" Hermione supplied.

"What?" Harry and Dan exclaimed at the same time. Jane could only gasp.

Minerva explained, "You have to have eye contact, but yes, he could read your most intimate thoughts. The only defence is Occlumency, and I'm not that good at it. Protecting your mind is a difficult art to learn. I've had no reason to practice it for many years now and I was only average when I did learn it. Albus would be able to pull your location from my mind easily if he suspected I knew. After he learns about the Dursley's and the wards, he'll want to question me, and we can't have that."

"You'll have to stay here then," Dan stated. "We can't take any chances. Oh**-**oh**,**I forgot. In all the rush, we don't have our passports with us. I'll have to retrieve them. We picked up a temporary travel permit for Harry, so he's covered."

"Best I do that for you Dan. I can pop in there and be gone before anyone knows it," Minerva suggested. "I should do it right away, where do you keep them?"

Dan looked at Jane and she answered. "We keep all of them in Dan's desk. I can't believe we left them! They should all be together, in a file folder labelled personal."

Telling them she wouldn't be gone long, she apparated to their home.

**The Granger residence:**

Once there, she scanned the area to make sure Albus hadn't left any traps. _'Ah, you tricky bastard, you've left monitoring charms at the front and back door.'_

Disposing of the charms presented no problem and she entered the house. She quickly made her way over to Dan's desk and found the folder with the passports in it. Carefully checking, she quickly left and just missed Albus portkeying in.

Noticing the telltale signs of residual magic, he pondered who it could have been. Surely no one knew a witch lived here. In any case, the place was still empty. He had a horrible feeling and quickly apparated to Little Whinging.

**Privet Drive, late that evening:**

After rousing Vernon, he learned most of the story. Some woman had been there with a man. Vernon had signed some kind of document, he was unclear what it was as his mind was fuzzy from drinking himself into a stupor. He couldn't remember where his wife was either. Albus thought, _'His mind must be damaged from the Imperio I gave him. Too strong for his weak mind. Damn, I have to be more careful. I wonder what he signed. I hope it wasn't anything to do with Harry. Hmm, that's odd, the wards have broken here. Those were blood wards, the strongest wards possible. Were Death Eaters here? No, they would have destroyed the place. Who could have done this and why?'_ He thought furiously, reaching no conclusion. Harry was gone. The Grangers were gone. Was there a connection? It gave him a headache just to try and figure out what had happened. Well, it was late, he'd go back to the castle and sleep on it. Perhaps tomorrow would see a solution.

**The Burrow, earlier that day:**

"Mum, when is Harry Potter coming?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know**,** love. Professor Dumbledore was supposed to bring him here ages ago. I know you'd like to meet him."

"You promised Mum." She whined. She had been so looking forward to meeting Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. Her family had read her stories about him since she was a baby**,** and she'd developed quite a crush on him.

"Be patient Pumpkin, your father and I have been assured he'll be here**.**"

"But I want to see him now!" she wailed. "It's getting close to school time and I'll never see him in time."

"I'll ask your father to remind the Professor tomorrow, sweetie. Go find your brothers and play with them."

"Ron's no fun," she pouted. "All he wants to do is play chess. The twins are no fun. They stay in their room blowing things up. Percy just studies all day. I wish Charlie or Bill were here."

………..

**Ipswich, Salthouse Harbour Hotel, Thursday, Aug. 15th:**

Minerva had handed the passports to Dan as soon as she returned last night. This morning, they were all up early, preparing to leave for France. The Grangers and Harry would leave from Dover on the ferry. Minerva would apparate across since she didn't need a passport. Dan had stubbornly refused to be apparated anywhere, although the children were all for it, wanting to try anything to do with magic.

"No, we need to go through the legal channels. I don't want to be questioned later by the authorities in France."

So, they drove to Dover and boarded the ferry, taking the BMW with them. Harry had never been at sea before and was a little seasick by the time they had crossed.

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office, early morning:**

"Severus, we have a problem." Albus had called his potion master into his office. "I believe the Grangers have taken Harry Potter. This is something we had talked about last week, as I'm sure you recall. I cannot allow Mr. Potter to be with them. However, I now believe that Minerva may have helped them. This is unacceptable. Do you have any suggestions where they may have gone?"

"Well, they can't stay hidden for long. Miss Granger is a Mudblood witch**,** if I recall. She won't be that powerful, so we really only have to concentrate on Minerva. Where do you think she would take them to hide from you?" Severus and Albus thought for a few minutes.

"France! I remember looking at Miss Grangers records," Albus said at last. "Her family usually goes to France every summer. Severus, I'd like you to make a trip to Beauxbatons Academy and see if they've registered there. We'll have to treat this as confidential, since if our ministry found out, there would be hell to pay. Be discrete, Severus. Madam Maxime and I are on good terms, I'd hate to ruin it."

"Certainly, Headmaster. I should be back later this afternoon."

**Calais France, Customs and Imigration, later that day:**

"Bonjour, welcome to France," the uniformed agent greeted. "May I see your documents please?"

Dan handed over the passports and Harry's temporary travel permit.

"Oh, I see Mr. Potter is not part of your family. Does he have permission…? Oh wait; I see the required signature. Have a nice stay in France." And with that, he waved them through the gates.

Minerva was waiting for them as they exited and breathed a sigh of relief. The hard part was over, now to find a place to live. Everyone was hungry, although Harry still looked a little green.

"There's a nice restaurant here in town," Dan remembered. "Let's grab a bite."

They found the restaurant and settled down for late lunch. By the time the food arrived, Harry had recovered his appetite and enjoyed the simple meal. After their nice meal they piled into the car and travelled on to the City of Lights.

**Paris, early evening:**

They located a nice hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens, Hotel Luxembourg Parc, which was an upscale hotel near the heart of Paris. It was a bit pricey for the five of them, but they wouldn't be staying that long and could afford it. Dan and Jane shared a room, Minerva had a room and it was decided to put Harry and Hermione in a room together. Harry was a little leery sharing a room with a girl, and Hermione blushed a bit, but they worked through it. As long as they were careful dressing and undressing, they felt they could handle the closeness.

Dan and Jane smirked, already knowing that nothing untoward would happen. "They'll get used to it dear," Jane remarked. "Both are too young to even consider dating, but we'll have to watch them in a few years."

Dan, being the protective father of his little girl, frowned, but relented under the baleful glare of his wife. In any case, he'd welcomed Harry into the family, but was a little uneasy about what might happen when they got a bit older. _'Oh well,'_ he thought, _'Lots of time to worry about that.'_

After a stroll around the nearby Gardens, they found a nice café and had a light supper. Since it had been a long day, they all retired early, it would be a full day tomorrow.

Minerva worried that Albus would track them down here and decided that tomorrow she would visit her friend Olympe Maxime. They enjoyed a special relationship and Minerva frequently visited her in the summer months. She would go first thing in the morning.

…………


	6. Chapter 6

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta Herman Tumbleweed.

**Chapter 6: Making Arrangements**

**Beauxbatons, Thursday afternoon, Aug 15th:**

After arriving at Beauxbatons Academy, Severus waited impatiently to be shown into Madame Maxime's office. _It seems as if she is deliberately making me wait,_ he thought. After an hour, Madame Maxime emerged, apologising for the delay.

"I'm so sorry for the delay, Severus, but something urgent came up." In fact, Olympe was not sorry for the delay and had kept the greasy bastard waiting on purpose. She had received an owl from her friend Minerva, that morning asking for help. She warned her that Albus Dumbledore might try something, and she would explain everything on Friday.

Ushering Snape into her office, she bade him be seated. "Now, what brings you to see me, Severus? Is Albus well?"

"Albus is quite well, Madame. He has sent me to enquire if Harry Potter has contacted the school. It seems that he has disappeared from England."

Olympe, suspected there was more to this than Snape was telling her, so decided not to play Albus' little games any longer. "I'm afraid I haven't heard anything, Severus." _And I wouldn't tell you anyway,_ she thought.

"Well, if he should contact you, Albus would insist that he be apprehended and returned to Hogwarts."

"Indeed? And why would he insist?" Olympe enquired, her temper starting to rise at the audacity of the request.

"Well, he is a UK citizen and properly belongs at Hogwarts," Snape said with a sneer.

"Professor Snape," Madame Maxime said, rising to her formidable height. "I'm afraid that Albus has no authority on French soil and I would request him to KEEP HIS NOSE OUT OF OUR BUSINESS!"

Snape back-pedalled at her outburst, cringing at the sheer volume. That didn't stop him from one last blustering attempt. "I'm sure the French ministry would see that if he's found, he will be returned."

"GET OUT!" she bellowed. "And tell Albus, that in future, if he wishes to interfere in our affairs, not to send his lapdog!"

Snape turned very red at this, but decided retreat was the best option. "Very well, Madame, you will hear more about this, I'm sure."

After Snape had left, Olympe sat down and pondered this unusual visit. She had heard rumours that Harry Potter was missing and wondered about Minerva's message. Were they connected? She would bet on it.

…….

**Paris, ****Hotel Luxembourg Parc****, Friday, Aug. 16th:**

"Time to get up Hermione, Harry," Dan called, knocking on their door. Minerva, it turned out, had already left to meet with Madam Maxime.

A groan and a 'Mmfff' were heard from their room. Hermione, always an early-bird was up first and claimed the shower. Harry staggered out of bed, rubbing his eyes and waited for Hermione to finish before taking his turn. Harry was still getting used to sleeping in the same room with Hermione. He wasn't quite comfortable with it, but waking up this morning he got an eyeful that he wasn't prepared for. Hermione had just finished her shower and was towelling herself off. She had forgotten to close the bathroom door and it was open enough to reveal a very naked Hermione. He blushed a deep red and quickly tried turning his back, but he still seemed to get glimpses of her dressing in the bathroom. The damn windows reflected the bathroom too well.

"Erm, Hermione, w-would you mind closing the door?" Harry stuttered, a blush climbing his face from what he had just seen reflected in the window.

"Eep! Oh! S-sorry, Harry," she blushed. "I-I forgot we weren't at home."

The door closed with a snap and Harry could imagine the embarrassment she could feel: never mind his own.

Presently she came out dressed and with a healthy pink glow to her face. Harry rushed in to shower and relieve himself.

Twenty minutes later he was dressed and ready and they made their way down for breakfast. Both Harry and Hermione pretended that the bathroom incident had never happened, although Harry now had a revised idea of just what girls looked like.

After the Grangers and Harry had finished a sumptuous breakfast, they checked the weather and decided to go for a ride on one of the tour boats on the Seine. Hedwig and Crookshanks were locked in their cages, both protesting loudly as they left the hotel.

The weather co-operated with a fine summer day as they made their way down to the quay. Dan paid for the tickets and they enjoyed a wonderful tour, viewing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral and the magnificent skyline of Paris. Harry thought he saw someone looking at them suspiciously, but when he turned, the person had gone. They hoped it wasn't one of Dumbledore's spies. Harry grew nervous and suggested they return to the hotel, confiding his fears with the Grangers.

**Beauxbatons, later Friday morning:**

After Minerva arrived for her meeting with Olympe she was ushered into the Headmistress' office. "Welcome, Minerva, it's good to see you again. You were right about Albus in your note. He is trying to interfere. Now, what's this all about? Do you know where Mr. Potter is? Of course you do, why else would you be here."

"Good morning Olympe. It's so nice to see you again. Yes, Mr. Potter is safely away from Albus. So, who did he send, or did he come himself?"

"No, he sent that greasy bat, Snape. Thoroughly detestable man, thought he could intimidate me with a threat to ask the Ministry to intervene. I let him know that he was not welcome here. Of course, the Ministry is run by my good friend Monsieur Delacour; when I talked to him, he assured me that Albus will have no say in where Mr. Potter chooses to stay, should he choose to stay in France."

"I'm happy to hear that. I wonder if it would be possible to place Mr. Potter and his friend Miss Hermione Granger at Beauxbatons? Minerva enquired. "Both children were scheduled to attend Hogwarts this year, but Albus wanted to separate them. Mr. Potter has formed a close friendship with the Muggle-born Miss Granger and Albus sees that as unacceptable. He's trying to force a relationship with a Pureblood family."

"Indeed? Olympe raised an eyebrow at this. "He's trying to put forth a pureblood agenda? How detestable! I thought he'd lived long enough to get past that nonsense. Of course, we would be happy to have the two children attend our school. Perhaps you can fill me in on the details of what's happened so far. Do they speak French?"

"Thank you, my friend. That takes a load off my mind. Miss Granger knows French and Mr. Potter will be learning very soon. I must ask another favour, if I may. Albus is surely aware by now that I assisted Mr. Potter and the Grangers to escape and will take action against me. Since I can no longer safely teach at Hogwarts, I was wondering…"

"But of course! You would be a most welcome addition to my staff! Your teaching skills are legendary and by coincidence, I have need of a Transfiguration teacher. Madame Rousseau fell ill lately and is unable to teach. We were in a panic to replace her, since term starts in less than 2 weeks. Can you be ready by then?"

Minerva clapped her hands in glee. Here was the answer to their problems. Harry and Hermione would be accepted and she would be able to teach. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Yes, I have all my lessons in my head and with the use of a Pensieve, I'll be able to recreate them. I'd just finished making the notes at Hogwarts and they're still fresh in my mind. Albus will be furious, of course, but since Mr. Potter has been adopted by the Granger's, he has no say on where Mr. Potter may go." Minerva continued to tell her friend about the events that led up to the Granger's, Harry and herself fleeing Britain.

Madame Maxime was startled to learn that the Granger's adopted Mr. Potter. _Excellent,_ she thought. _That's one less hold the old bastard has on him._

"I think you will need a guide to help them shop. May I recommend the Delacour's daughter Fleur? She is part Veela and is in her fourth year. She could be very helpful dealing with the shop owners. The Delacour's are very well known in magical France. I will contact Fleur and her mother and send them to your hotel tomorrow morning, if that will be alright."

"Thank you Olympe, that's very kind of you. We are staying at Hotel Luxembourg Parc in Paris."

"Splendid, the Delacour's live in Paris, I'm sure they will be happy to help."

After Minerva left, Madame Maxime pondered the implications of Harry Potter attending her school. _Of course it will be wonderful, but I must warn the students and staff not to make too big a fuss. He must learn magic like every other student. But I am sure we can teach him a few things that Hogwarts does not offer._ She smiled at the thought that the great Albus Dumbledore would be incensed that her school would be teaching Harry Potter. _Crazy old man; he really should have retired years ago, _she thought. _At least that evil git Snape won't be teaching him._

………

**Paris, ****Hotel Luxembourg Parc****, Saturday, Aug. 17th:**

After breakfast, Minerva met the Delacours in the hotel lobby and introduced them to the Grangers and Harry.

"Madame Delacour, Fleur, Gabrielle, this is Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Dan and Jane, their daughter Hermione and their adopted son Harry Potter,"

"Please, call me Appoline, Dan, Jane. We are pleased to meet you, and you Hermione, and of course your new adopted son as well, Harry. Fleur and Gabrielle will escort you to our magical shops. Gabrielle will be starting school this year as well. I have business to attend and will meet you later."

"You will need new uniforms, as the Hogwarts robes simply will not do. I will escort you to Madame Suzettes," Fleur announced. "Gaby needs robes too."

Madam Suzettes was a stylish robe shop, set in the bustling heart of Paris. Like the Leaky Cauldron it could not be seen by Muggles. Fleur and Gabrielle guided them through the maze of Parisian streets until they entered a side alley. As they entered the shop, Fleur greeted the owner in her native language and then, switching to English, introduced her charges. "Madame Suzette, I am happy to present our newest students; M. Harry Potter, Mlle Hermione Granger and my sister Gabrielle. They will need new uniforms for school. The fine pale blue silk robes with the school Coat of Arms**:** two crossed golden wands on a powder-blue field, each emitting three stars. You remember, the new style we discussed last year?"

"Oui, Mademoiselle. I will need to measure them up. It will be my pleasure to serve you, Monsieur Potter and Mademoiselle Granger.

Madame Suzette set to measuring Hermione first and presently was making final adjustments to a beautiful robe. Harry gaped as he caught a glimpse of Hermione in the fitting room. _'She definitely looks good in blue,' _he thought. Then it was his turn.

After measuring him and fitting the fine silk robe, Harry walked out to show the robe to Hermione. She had been admiring her new robe when Harry came out of the fitting room. "Harry," she teased, you look good enough to make a girl's heart beat faster."

Harry blushed, but teased back, "And you look fantastic. There will be boys chasing you at school." Harry thought he'd gone too far, but noticed a shy smile on her face.

"Thank you, Harry, that's sweet."

They both purchased three more sets of robes and**,** after paying for them, left the shop.

Fleur accompanied them back to the hotel, complimenting them on their robes. "You both look fantastique. Are you sure you have all you need for school?"

"Thank you Fleur," Hermione smiled. "We shopped in London before we left and have everything."

"Oh, but the books, they will be different! We had better check at Madame Posey's Books. She will know what you need, but I must warn you, they will be in French." Fleur stated.

"Oh, I had forgotten!" Hermione exclaimed. "I speak French, but Harry is just learning. Professor McGonagall has found a spell to teach the language rapidly. He should be ready by start of term."

They entered the large bookstore Fleur had mentioned. Madam Posey met them and provided the list of books for first year students. Hermione and Fleur selected the books and Harry paid for them. Harry had seen an interesting book that seemed to need no translation and added that to the pile as well.

Gabrielle had been following this with interest. "What's that book Harry?"

Harry replied, "Well, since I'm in France, I thought a book on French wines would be useful."

Fleur's mother arrived and after a pleasant lunch together, the Grangers, Harry and the Delacour's parted. "We will see you in a few days, Harry and Hermione," Fleur and Gabrielle waved , and were gone.

……..

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office, Saturday morning:**

"Well, Severus?" Albus asked, impatiently. "Are they in France? Have you found them?"

"I'm afraid I have been unable to say for sure, Headmaster. Madame Maxime was most rude and threw me out. She denied knowledge of Mr. Potter, but I suspect she knows more than she was saying. I contacted the French Ministry, but was told in no uncertain terms 'not to meddle in French affairs', is how Monsieur Delacour put it. There will be no help from that quarter. I feel certain the boy is there, but nobody will admit it."

"Very well, we will have to take other measures. Notify the old crowd; I want that boy here in time for start of term."

……..

**Sunday Aug. 18th Paris-Lyon:**

The next day, the Grangers and Harry piled into the BMW and headed south to Marseilles. Minerva decided to apparate directly back to Beauxbatons for some last minute consultations with Madame Maxime. They agreed to meet in Marseilles the following day at a hotel Dan had selected. Dan and Jane had used the hotel for dentist conferences and found it very nice if a bit expensive. They could afford it though and thought it a good bluff in case Dumbledore went looking for them.

The day was bright with fluffy clouds and the green French countryside beckoned. As they drove the A6 Autoroute, the countryside opened up in all it's splendour; patchwork fields, small towns and always, the hum of traffic. The normal drive of five and a half hours stretched to eight when they stopped to sightsee at small villages on the way. France was so different than England to Harry. Hermione had travelled this route last summer with her parents and was familiar with some of the sights.

"It's beautiful and so clean, Hermione," Harry exclaimed.

"It really is, isn't it? Oh! Look at the river, it's all neatly lined with stonework. They had stopped in Le Coudray-Monceaux on the Seine for lunch. They walked down to the locks of Coudray-Montceaux. This old lock of the 19th century coupled with another constructed in 1966 was the first Harry and Hermione had seen.

On the far bank a man looked across at the quartet and startled. He'd have to report this. Unfortunately, he could not follow, as his orders were just to observe and report anything odd.

Resuming their journey, they finally stopped in Lyon at nightfall after the rigorous drive. Dan arranged for a hotel for the night and they all fell into bed, exhausted.

……..

**Beauxbatons, that morning:**

Minerva arrived back at Beauxbatons Academy just as Madam Maxime was having breakfast.

"Good morning Olympe. I'm sorry to disturb you so early."

"Minerva! I'm delighted to see you again so soon. What brings you back. I wasn't expecting you until the end of the week."

"I needed to see you regarding the classes Mr. Potter and Miss Granger will be taking. Since they are English, they will not be familiar with many of the customs of France. Perhaps a Muggle studies class to orient them would help."

"But of course. We would have suggested that in any case. You know that our curriculum is different than Hogwarts; do you have any other concerns or suggestions?"

"Mr. Potter came across an old book that has intrigued me. I seem to remember you offered a course in enchanting. I suspect young Mr. Potter may have a talent."

"Oh, surely you jest. This course is a graduate course for our seventh years, not for one so young."

"Nevertheless, Olympe, he's already broken several enchantments and wards. If he is able to break them, perhaps he can be trained to create them."

"Impossible. Minerva, you know as well as I that it takes an exceptionally strong wizard to imbue objects with magic on a permanent basis. Enchantments are some of the most difficult magic to perform."

"Still, I'd like to try and see if he has the ability. The book he has is very old and is very detailed on enchanting objects. I suspect it was originally owned by Nicholas Flamel or possibly Merlin himself."

"Now, Minerva, Flamel is an alchemist, not an enchanter. Surely he wouldn't have a book like that," Olympe chided her friend.

"I'm not so sure. He was a researcher first and foremost and enchanting would be something he would have researched in his early days. Albus mentioned this some time ago, if I recall."

The discussion continued for over an hour, touching on several other courses that the children might take. Madam Maxime reluctantly agreed to at least let Harry audit the enchanting class, and allowed Hermione to do so as well.

…….

**Monday Aug. 19th Lyon-Marseilles:**

They resumed their journey the next day, on the A7 in Lyon for a 3-hour drive to Marseilles.

Harry and Hermione enjoyed the ride, noting the change in scenery. The geography changed to a more rugged terrain and was distinctly hotter. The blue sky turned hazy with the heat and soon they had to use the air conditioning. The humidity made them sweat every time they exited the auto. They finally arrived in Marseilles and searched out their hotel, the Sofitel Marseille Vieux-Port, overlooking the harbour. Minerva joined them for dinner that evening and reported onher talks with Madam Maxime.

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office, August 20th:**

"Good morning Severus. It seems that the Grangers and Mr. Potter may have been spotted in a small town south of Paris. They may be heading to Beauxbatons. I can't have that. I want you to take several trusted members of the Order and intercept them before they arrive. Do what is necessary for the greater good and obliviate the Granger's memories when you find them. Let them take their daughter to Beauxbatons, but Mr. Potter is to be returned here to me."

"Do you know where they are at this time, Albus?" Snape asked.

"Unfortunately not. I suspect they have already passed through Lyon and may be in Marseilles by now."

"That's a big city, Headmaster. It will be difficult to locate them there," Snape replied.

"They will most likely want to remain inconspicuous and hidden, so I would check all the small hotels and cheaper places," Albus replied, confident that he could out-think mere Muggles. How wrong he was.

………


	7. Chapter 7

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta Grenouille7777.

**Chapter 7: Beauxbatons.**

**Aug. 24th, Marseilles:**

Harry awoke to a bushy haired girl shaking him. "Mfff, wazzat, lemme sleep."

"Harry! Get up! Dad has just heard from Mr. Crandall. Your adoption papers just came through!" Hermione said excitedly. "That means you're now officially a Granger."

Harry's head popped up instantly. "Really?" A big grin spread across his face. He jumped out of bed and hugged Hermione tightly. "That's great, erm… 'sister'!"

Hermione had a huge grin on her face as she hugged him.

Harry quickly dressed and rushed down to join his new family.

Down in the dining room, the breakfast table was set up with McGonagall and the Grangers waiting for their newest member. Sitting down to a continental breakfast of toast and sweet rolls, Harry couldn't contain his excitement.

"I can't believe it's true! I finally have a family," he exclaimed in delight.

"Welcome to the family**,** Harry," Dan beamed. Jane and Hermione were hugging Harry tightly between them.

"Oof! C-can't breathe," Harry sputtered.

"Let him go ladies, you'll suffocate him," Dan admonished, a smile twitching the corners of his mouth.

Minerva had a rare smile on her face as she started to relax a bit. Albus' hold on Harry would be weakened now, and, although he was still a British citizen, his new family would have the final say on his education. She knew Albus would try every trick he knew to invalidate Harry's adoption, but the paper work would effectively negate his efforts; after all, the British practically invented bureaucracy.

After breakfast, it was decided to start on Harry's French lessons. Minerva had obtained the necessary potion to enhance his learning and retention of the new language. It would be a bit painful(, since the potion forced the brain to learn at a rate that was abnormal. The language itself would be fed to him from a magical device that taught at twenty times the normal rate. Minerva would oversee the learning process while Harry was kept magically asleep. They would teach him in two hour segments, with a break of an hour after each segment and a two hour break each for lunch and dinner.

Hermione assured Harry that she'd be right there beside him.

Harry relaxed and Minerva gave him the potion. It tasted terrible and Harry gagged on it a bit. "Yuck! That tasted like old smelly socks!"

Minerva grinned. "Oh, you've tasted old smelly socks before?"

"Well, Dudley tried to force me to eat one of his once," Harry grimaced.

"Now, I'll give you this sleeping draught and we'll begin as soon as you're asleep," Minerva told him.

……….

Images raced through Harry's head. Words, phrases, meanings, structure: a kaleidoscope of thoughts and impressions burrowed deep into his brain. He felt like his mind would explode and a severe headache was starting to develop when it suddenly stopped. Harry awoke and retched, his stomach in a turmoil. He barely made it to the loo before vomiting and fainting.

Hermione was beside him in a shot, holding his head and making sure he didn't choke. "Professor! Was that supposed to happen? He looks terrible!" Hermione worried.

"That was unexpected, my dear. I forgot that Harry was maltreated for most of his life and might not be able to take the strain his mind was subjected to. I'll have to re-evaluate this. We may have to try something else."

Carefully cleaning him up and rinsing his mouth, Minerva levitated the unconscious boy to the bed and tucked him in. "We'll let him sleep and see how he feels when he wakes up."

"I'm staying with him, Professor," Hermione declared. "He doesn't look well. Maybe we shouldn't have done it this way."

"I'm sorry, Hermione, he must learn the language rapidly. Perhaps if we slow the process down a bit and extend it until it's time to attend school."

…………

The next day, Harry groggily awoke with a fierce headache. "Que s'est-il passé? Je me sens comme j'ai été frappé sur la tête avec un marteau. (What happened? I feel like I've been hit over the head with a hammer.)"

"Oooh, Professor, it worked! He's speaking French," Hermione smiled.

"Hermione! Oh my head hurts."

"Easy, Harry, don't move suddenly, you've had a rough night," Minerva cautioned him. "The learning was a lot harder on you than I thought. Usually it's just a bit painful for the first hour, but it looks like you reacted badly to the language translator. You are able to speak some French, it seems."

"I can?" he asked, astonished. He had not realised that he had been speaking a new language since he awoke.

_**A/N: They will all now converse in French when necessary. I won't bother to do the translation since it would take up too much space and the story wouldn't flow properly.**_

"Yes, Harry, don't you even notice it?" Hermione asked.

"No, it just seems natural, I mean**,** I thought I was speaking English," Harry replied, surprised that he wouldn't notice something like that.

"It's not perfect, Harry," Minerva told him. "You'll need to spend more time with the translator, but we'll slow it down and stretch it out over the rest of the week. I'm surprised you've learned as much as you have after just the one session."

…………

Dumbledore was getting frantic. Less than a week until school started and Harry had not been sighted, despite his best efforts. He had almost two dozen people searching Marseilles**,** but Harry and the Grangers seem to have vanished. Snape had personally checked all the cheaper hotels and was now faced with the daunting task of checking the medium class hotels. Surely they wouldn't stay in the expensive ones. He knew that that would be too high profile for someone trying to hide.

As the days slowly passed, Dumbledore started to revise his plans. It would be dangerous and the fallout would be enormous if the new plan failed, but the loss of Harry Potter under his control would be disastrous. The risk was worth it, he finally decided.

…………

**August 31st, Marseilles.**

By the end of the month, Harry was fully fluent in French and had actually been teaching Hermione a bit. The headaches had stopped and the slower pace of learning had enabled him to enjoy the nuances of the language.

The Grangers decided to check out of the hotel and see the city one last time. Dan had already arranged for suitable housing for himself and Jane near the school. They would rent until they decided if they would stay permanently in France. Both parents wanted to stay close to the children and needed to work in their profession. By happy coincidence, a fine two-story house became available just 10 kilometres from Beauxbatons. The house had four bedrooms, which would serve them well. Hermione and Harry would have separate bedrooms and Minerva could stay during the holidays. Meanwhile they decided to check out employment opportunities as dental surgeons in the area. They would need to work, if only to keep from getting bored. There were several possibilities and the Grangers decided to look into that later.

Dan asked the name of the mountain visible from their front window and learned from Minerva that it was called Montagne de Marseilleveyre and was also visible from Beauxbatons. Minerva also pointed out an island barely visible in the Mediterranean. This turned out to be Château d'If, the wizard prison near Marseilles. "Wizard prison? Who guards it?"

"The French Aurors," she replied. "They are like wizard policemen, but much more powerful. In Britain, we have Azkaban Prison which is guarded by Dementors; the foulest creatures known to man. Thankfully they are a bit more civilised here." She then went on to explain what a Dementor was. Harry and the Grangers shuddered at the description.

…………

**September 1st, Beauxbatons**

The morning of the big day arrived and Harry was just as excited as Hermione.

They had quickly dressed in their new blue robes and ate a hasty breakfast. After Dan had loaded the children's trunks into the boot, the five piled into the car and they quickly left Marseilles behind, heading for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Dan was concerned when Minerva directed him onto a dirt road that seemed to be a dead end. She admonished him to keep driving straight through what appeared to be a stand of trees blocking the way, only to be amazed when they passed straight through.

"The Academy is hidden from Muggles, Dan: only Witches and Wizards can see the road and the castle," Minerva told him. Harry and Hermione had wondered why their father had hesitated on a perfectly smooth road.

As the Grangers drove up to the Palace of Beauxbatons, the car suddenly stalled. They were still a kilometer from the Academy and although they'd had glimpses of the building, it was still far enough away to deter them from walking. Minerva decided to Apparate to the school for help. Harry had a bad feeling about this, but didn't voice his feelings. The Grangers and Harry decided to wait outside in the late summer sunshine.

Suddenly, several sharp pops announced the arrival of a group of wizards. Harry counted five hooded men.

"There he is," one of them shouted, "Grab him!"

Harry struggled, managing to kick free after biting the hand of the man that held him. Hermione screamed, but was cuffed hard across the face. Jane and Dan were quickly stunned and the chase was on. Harry had managed to disappear into the bushes at the side of the road and the wizards spread out in search of him.

…………

Meanwhile, Minerva had quickly made her way to the office of the Headmistress. "Olympe," Minerva greeted her friend, "Our car failed just about a kilometre from the grounds. Can you send someone to retrieve Harry and the Grangers? I'm afraid there's quite a bit of luggage."

"Of course, Minerva. Our groundskeeper will take care of it. Why did the automobile fail?"

"I don't know? It is a Muggle device and I'm not familiar with the mechanics… unless…"

"What is it?"

"No! He wouldn't dare!"

"What are you talking about, Minerva?"

"We must get back to the car immediately! Bring as many adults as you can. I have a feeling Harry may be in danger."

Minerva ran from the office and quickly Apparated back to the car. Seeing Hermione crying and her stunned parents, She quickly looked around for Harry. Not seeing him, she gathered Hermione into her arms and asked the sobbing girl what happened.

Madame Maxime arrived with four other professors and quickly enervated the Grangers.

"They took Harry!" Hermione cried. "He fought them and tried to run, but… but they caught up with him and disappeared."

Minerva swore under her breath. "Did you get a look at them Hermione?"

"They w-wore hoods and I couldn't see their faces, but one had his back to me and his hood slipped. He had long greasy looking black hair and his cloak billowed out behind him. He seemed to be in charge. I think he was the one that slapped me."

"Snape! I'd bet money on it!" Minerva retorted.

Madame Maxime had listened to this and vowed vengeance on one Albus Dumbledore. "He will pay for this blatant intrusion and kidnapping! But first, we must retrieve young Mr. Potter. Annabelle," she called one of her professors. "Can you see to the safety of the Grangers and bring them to the Palace?"

"Oui**,** Madame," she replied.

…………

Harry struggled, but it was no use. One of the wizards had caught him as he stumbled through the underbrush. Harry again managed to bite the wizards hand, leading to a hard punch to his stomach. As the air whooshed out of him, the wizard Disapparated with Harry. As soon as they were far enough away, the wizard pulled out a small object that turned out to be a Portkey and Harry felt a tug behind his navel and they were gone.

…………


	8. Chapter 8

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M for language

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

**Chapter 8: Taken**

**September 1st, Beauxbatons Academy:**

"Olympe, what can we do?" Minerva asked, quite noticeably upset. "Albus will try to hold on to him, even hide him. He'll probably deny even taking Harry!"

"Merde! Ce Bâtard!" (Shit! That Bastard!) Madame Maxime exploded. "We'll see about that!" She continued to swear in French until McGonagall managed to calm her down. "I'll contact Monsieur Delacour; he'll know what to do. Meanwhile, I have a school to run and you have classes to teach. We'll let the government take care of this for now."

Minerva shook her head in despair. "I tried to keep him safe. Kidnapping! I would never have thought Albus would stoop so low! If I ever get my hands on Severus, he'll wish He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had killed him. I'll make it very painful! As for Albus, Azkaban's too good for him." She was shaking with rage, tears forming in her eyes and she angrily shook her head to clear her thoughts. "The gloves are off, Albus," she muttered.

…………

**Hogwarts:**

Harry landed in a heap outside a gate. In the distance he could see a magnificent castle.

"Come along brat! The Headmaster wants to see you, although, if it were up to me, you'd still be in that filthy country! You'll pay for biting my hand!" Snape was still smarting from the deep bite marks that Harry had given him.

He cuffed Harry on the side of the head, who stumbled along beside the greasy haired man. "You'll be sorry you took me away from my family," Harry stated angrily.

"What family, you arrogant brat? Your aunt and uncle are dead, as is your mother and father."

"My relatives are not dead, besides, I'm a Potter-Granger now: they adopted me!"

That gave Snape pause, but he let it go. "Your aunt and uncle and cousin were killed last week. In any case, it doesn't matter, the Grangers are only Muggles, they have no say in the magical world."

Harry began to be truly frightened now. He'd somehow have to escape these evil people. But then what? How would he get back with his new family? Even if he did, would he be kidnapped again?

And then something unexpected happened. At first, Severus felt a resistance forming around him. Slowly, he found the way forward blocked as if wards had appeared around him. Glancing at Harry, he saw a look of intense anger and concentration on his face. Deciding not to take chances, he stunned Harry. As Harry fell over, the resistance faded. Shaking his head, Snape levitated the unconscious boy before him and strode into the Great Hall.

…………

**Beauxbatons:**

Monsieur Delacour arrived at the school after Madame Maxime made an urgent Floo call to the ministry.

"Bonjour Madame, I understand there's been a spot of trouble?"

"Henri, it is good you came promptly. Harry has been taken!"

"Harry Potter? Who took him?"

"He's Harry Potter-Granger now, Henri. We think that Albus Dumbledore has had him kidnapped and taken him back to Britain."

"Olympe, are you sure? That's a serious charge!"

Madame Maxine was in full fury now. "That bastard Snape took him. At least that's what Miss Granger told me. Her description fits the greasy man to a T. He had at least four others with him."

"Merde! Kidnapping is a federal offence here. We have extradition treaties with Britain. If Dumbledore is involved, I'll see him in Château d'If. We may not use Dementors, but he'll find the stay thoroughly unpleasant."

"Do you think we can get him back, Henri?" Olympe asked hopefully.

"Dumbledore's powerful, but I think I can bring enough pressure to bear to have Harry returned. By the way, when did Harry become a Granger?"

"The Grangers finished the adoption process just yesterday, and it's perfectly legal in Britain."

"That'll help," Monsieur Delacour replied. "Their Minister of Magic may be an incompetent fool, but I'd like to see him squirm out of this one."

"What about the Grangers being Muggles? Their ministry doesn't recognise the rights of Muggle parents."

"Hmm. That may present a problem. I'll have to apply pressure through some of the other schools. The Spanish, Italian, German and Austrian schools will be with me on this. I'm sure the Americans, Canadians and Australians will back us as well."

…………

**Hogwarts:**

"Well, Severus, I see you've managed to retrieve young Mr. Potter. Any trouble?" Albus asked.

"No trouble over there, Headmaster, although the brat bit me quite hard. There is a problem, or rather several problems, though. Harry Potter is now Harry Potter-Granger. It appears that the Grangers have adopted him. Also, a strange resistance appeared when I tried to take Harry through the wards. It was like trying to walk through water that got progressively thicker. I finally stunned Harry and the resistance faded. I suspect you'll have trouble from France over his abduction. Miss Granger may have been able to give them a description of me."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about the adoption, He's still Harry Potter and our ministry would never have approved the adoption. It must have been done in France. In any case, Muggles have no say in magical children. I'll simply make sure I'm his magical guardian and that will be the end of it. Stupid Muggles!

"The other thing, however, worries me. The wards broke at Privet Drive and he appears to have some power over them here as well. I'll have to keep an eye on him. In the meantime, we'll just leave him stunned until the sorting. The students will not arrive until this evening. He'll be sorted as a Gryffindor, of course."

"What about Minerva? Do you think she'll cause problems, Headmaster?"

"No, Minerva's made her decision, and if she returns here, I'll have the Aurors arrest her. That will be all for now Severus, I have much to prepare before the welcoming feast."

Harry was slowly regaining consciousness; fighting the spell that had stunned him. It was now early evening, he reckoned, as the sky had darkened. He wondered where he was until he saw an old man with a long white beard sitting in a chair at a desk. He supposed this was Albus Dumbledore and he was in his office. Feigning unconsciousness, Harry surreptitiously watched the old man. The spell had now loosened its hold on him and he could move, but chose not to do so until he found out more.

Albus was muttering to himself and Harry caught a few words. "Stupid Muggles… James and Sirius weren't too bright either… Got to keep Remus… I wonder how Harry…"

Albus suddenly looked up as his silver instruments went wild. "What…?" He looked curiously at Harry, but decided Harry was still unconscious. The instruments continued to act erratically until finally smoke started to pour out of them. Alarmed, Albus quickly cast several spells until they all fell silent. "Now what do you suppose caused that?" He looked suspiciously at Harry and finally smiled.

"Mr. Potter. I'm afraid I can't have you messing with my toys."

Harry opened his eyes and glared at the headmaster. "I don't know what you mean. Why am I here anyway? I should be at Beauxbatons. My parents will be frantic."

"Now Harry, you know your parents are dead. As for being here, this is where you belong. We will train you to be the wizard you were meant to be." Albus smiled and his eyes twinkled in what he hoped would be a benevolent manner. He'd have to gain young Harry's trust if he was to keep him here. Unfortunately, he couldn't send him back to the Dursley's, but perhaps Molly would take him in during the summer. Yes, that would work and young Ginevra would help control him. He'd have to talk to Molly tomorrow.

"My parents are Jane and Dan Granger! They adopted me legally this summer. You will find keeping me here will be very difficult!" Harry yelled.

"Tut, tut, Mr. Potter, a British citizen can't be adopted outside the country. France has no legal right to do this."

"Then you'll be pleased to know that it was done in THIS country! The final papers came through yesterday, signed and notarised properly by the Ministry of Magic. I saw the papers myself."

Albus scowled at this bit of news. How had that happened? Fudge would be hearing from him! "Be that as it may, Harry, you are still a British citizen and as such, you must attend school here."

The anger that Harry felt at that moment resulted in a strong wind blowing through the office. The lights dimmed and the torches finally went out. Things started flying around the office and several glass cases shattered. Finally, the windows blew out and Harry collapsed unconscious.

…………

**Beauxbatons:**

Hermione was frantic. She had been crying continuously since Harry had gone. Gabrielle had arrived and tried to comfort her, but she only sobbed harder. "They took him, Gabrielle! He fought them, but they were too much for him. They just stunned Mum and Dad and I couldn't do anything!

"It's alright Hermione. Your parents are safe and Papa has promised to help get Harry back. Fleur and I will help in anyway we can. Professor McGonagall is doing everything she can to help as well. She's sent an Owl to Professor Flitwick at Hogwarts. She says she can trust him to keep her informed about Harry."

Hermione finally settled down, but sat with her head in her hands. "We just got word yesterday that the adoption papers went through. He's my adopted brother now and I miss him so much!"

"I know, Hermione. Be patient. Papa has a lot of power; he'll get Harry back."

…………

**Paris:**

Henri Delacour was speaking rapidly, bringing the rest of the Ministry up to date. "Harry Potter, whom I'm sure you've all heard of, has been kidnapped. He is still a British citizen but was adopted legally by Dan and Jane Granger. They have requested asylum and I've granted it. Their daughter, Hermione, and Harry Potter-Granger (née Potter) were scheduled to start school at Beauxbatons Academy today."

This brought a roar of outrage from the several ministers present.

"We suspect Albus Dumbledore, working through Professor Severus Snape had him taken this morning before he was able to enter the grounds of the Academy. I want to initiate charges of kidnapping against Severus Snape and a demand that the British Ministry of Magic hand over Harry Granger to us immediately."

There was general agreement on this and Henri moved to the next item. "Furthermore, I suggest we inform our sister schools and Magical Governments on the continent and in North America and Australia of these events to put pressure on the British Magical Government. The British will resist of course, but I think enough bad publicity can be generated to see that Harry will be returned forthwith."

A nod of agreement from the others sent several aides scurrying to start the process.

…………

**Hogwarts Express:**

Ron Weasley was talking to Neville Longbottom. "Neville, I thought Harry Potter was supposed to be on board today."

"Dunno, Ron," Neville replied. "I heard a rumour that Harry had left the country."

Draco Malfoy took that moment to appear in their compartment. "Harry Potter? He thinks he's too good to attend school here? What a sissy!"

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron glared at him.

"Not that I'd blame him, if he had to put up with the likes of you two losers." Draco quickly left before the two could say anything.

The train eventually stopped at Hogsmeade station and the students made their way to the castle.

…………

**Beauxbatons:**

Hermione was assigned an open dorm with the other first years. Gabrielle accompanied her and they chose beds side by side. Hermione was a little shocked that there were boys in the dorm with them, but Gabrielle explained that this was the way it was done in France and nobody paid much attention to it. After all, there was plenty of room and the boys generally kept to one side of the dorm and the girls the other. Of course, the washroom facilities were segregated. A few boys already had girlfriends and tended to select a bed close to them. There were a few brother/sister pairs as well and Hermione supposed she would get used to it. She wouldn't tell her parents about this, though. They might not understand.

"It is only the first years that don't have their own rooms. Second years and up share a room with one other: either boy/boy; girl/girl, or boy/girl. Sometimes there are three to a room, but that's quite rare since we have space for more students than we currently have attending. We can share a room with Harry next year if you like," Gabrielle suggested hopefully.

"I-I don't know," Hermione stuttered. "I'd have to think about that. We have lots of time to decide that."

Gabrielle was hoping she could persuade Hermione and Harry to share with her. She didn't want to share with someone she didn't know and she thought they could be great friends.

As they settled down to sleep, Hermione and Gabrielle hoped that Harry was alright and would soon be back with them.

…………

**Hogwarts:**

Harry slowly recovered in the infirmary as Madam Pomfrey bustled about, checking him.

"Well, Mr. Potter, will you be able to attend the sorting ceremony? I don't see anything wrong with you except a bit of magical exhaustion."

"Excuse me, who are you, madam?" Harry asked. "And I am Harry Potter-Granger, not Potter any longer."

"I am the school nurse, Mr. Potter-Granger. My name is Madam Pomfrey, and I dearly hope you won't make it a point of spending much time here. I understand it was quite a feat of accidental magic you performed earlier. Now run along."

Albus was waiting for him, just inside the doors and escorted him to the Great Hall. The students turned and gasped at the strange first year in the light blue silk robes. "Is that… is that Harry Potter?" could be heard whispered throughout the hall. "Look at the pansy in blue," was also heard from the Slytherin table.

Most of the first years had been sorted by the Hat when they arrived. Albus sat Harry on the stool and placed the hat on his head. Or at least he tried to place the hat on Harry's head. It seemed that the Hat had other ideas, however.

"No, Headmaster! He doesn't want to be sorted. He doesn't belong here!"

"Nonsense, he's a British subject and must be here," the headmaster replied.

"Not any longer, Albus! France has accepted him and they have granted his parents political asylum. That means he now qualifies as a French citizen."

"What rubbish. He doesn't even speak French!"

Harry proceeded to refute that with a string of French swearwords, rounding out by calling the Headmaster a Bastard in French.

Albus turned a deep shade of red and several students also blushed, understanding just what Harry had said.

Nevertheless, the Hat was forced on Harry's head and there was dead quiet for a moment before the Hat shrieked and burst into flame.

Startled, the Headmaster quickly removed the hat and doused the flames.

The Hat spluttered for a moment and proceeded to tear the Headmaster a new one. "You idiot! I told you not to put me on Mr. Potter-Granger's head! What kind of an old fool are you anyway!" The Hat continued to curse the Headmaster for several minutes, before falling silent, glaring at Albus. (That is, if it had eyes, it would have given the old coot a death glare).

"Humph. Well, we'll deal with this later. For now, I'll seat you with the Gryffindors, Harry."

Harry was still fuming. "Like I'll sit in your stupid school! I'm out of here." And with a very loud crack, he was gone. The school shook from the lambent magic that Harry had produced, the after glow slowly dissipating.

…………

**Beauxbatons:**

Madame Maxime had just finished checking the Dining Chamber of the Palace when she felt the wards break.

Harry Potter-Granger had just Apparated to the bedside of Hermione. He collapsed on her bed as she let out a shriek of surprise, quickly followed by a frantic hug for her new brother.

"Harry! How did you get…?" She looked at him, noticing he was unconscious. "Gabrielle! Harry's here!"

"H-how did he get here?" Gabrielle had just settled down to sleep when Harry arrived.

"I-I'm not sure. I think he Apparated."

"He couldn't have. You can't Apparate anywhere inside Beauxbatons or the grounds."

"Well, he's obviously here, Gabrielle. We'll have to get him to the hospital wing."

Just then, Madame Maxime arrived and seeing Harry, exclaimed: "Mon Dieu! Is that Harry?"

"Oui, Madame," Gabrielle answered. "He just appeared and is unconscious."

Quickly taking charge, she lifted the boy and rushed him to the hospital, where Madame Suzette, the Academy nurse, quickly examined him. "He'll have to stay the night, Headmistress. He's magically exhausted. I can hardly detect any magic at all in his core. It might be awhile before he's restored. I'd like to have him for a day or so."

"Alright Suzette. I have to make some calls. It seems like our Mr. Potter-Granger is full of surprises."

Olympe notified Henri immediately that Harry was back, but couldn't tell him how. Next she talked to Minerva and then the Grangers. All were relieved, but mystified how it had happened.

Hermione and Gabrielle had sought out the nurse to see how Harry was and were informed that he was mostly exhausted and needed bed rest. Hermione wanted to stay with Harry, but eventually relented when Gabrielle told her they had a big day tomorrow and needed their sleep.

"He'll still be here tomorrow Hermione and we can look in on him then."

…………


	9. Chapter 9

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

A/N: Just a few French phrases here for context. Assume, for the most part that in France, everyone speaks French.

**Chapter 9: Starting School at Last**

**Hogwarts, September 1st:**

The Great Hall was in an uproar. Harry Potter had disappeared with a loud crack that shattered windows and blew out the torches. Albus was speechless and Snape looked like he had swallowed something particularly nasty. Albus was the first to recover and re-lit the torches with a wave of his wand. The damage could now be seen. Several students closest to where Harry had been were picking themselves up off the floor, their ears still ringing from the magic that had rolled through the packed hall. A slow drip, drip could be seen from the magical ceiling as a small crack appeared just above where Harry had stood. Apparently, the overpressure had condensed the water out of the air near the ceiling and a leak had started. It had been a clear evening until that point, but a small rain cloud had materialized over the crack.

Professor Flitwick had been blown clear out of his chair and Professor Sprout was testing her hearing, her ears popping as she swallowed, trying to clear them.

Filch, the caretaker, had landed on his arse against the wall, and Peeves the poltergeist laughed madly at the devastation. The ghosts were bewildered and floated around aimlessly.

Albus could sense the school wards had been damaged and after restoring order to the Great Hall, bid the students to "tuck in" to the feast, not noticing that the students were eyeing him suspiciously. Quickly leaving the Great Hall, Albus made his way to his office, followed by Snape.

"Headmaster, I don't believe what just happened! You can't Apparate inside the wards at Hogwarts."

"Apparently Harry can, Severus," the old man replied.

Snape shuddered. This was bad news. If Potter could Apparate here, who knew what else he could do.

"That's not the worst of it, Severus. Harry evidently caused the wards to collapse! I've got my work cut out for me, repairing them. I'll have to rethink my decision about having him here. He could be dangerous."

Snape would be just as happy not to see Potter again, ever! Who knew what he could do if he put his mind to it.

….....

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Susan Bones was trying to remember everything she could, to report this to her Aunt Amelia. Amelia Bones, as head of the DMLE, would be very interested in what happened when the Headmaster tried to enforce his views on a student that was powerful enough to resist.

Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom were suitably cowed at the raw power Harry Potter had displayed. "Bloody Hell!" Ron exclaimed. "How did he do that? Percy told me that nobody could Apparate at Hogwarts."

"The Hat, Ron! What about the Hat; he almost destroyed it. My Gran told me the Hat had been Godric Gryffindor's hat. It's powerfully magical in itself and he almost destroyed it. Did you notice the Hat didn't like it either?" he snickered. Tore a new one in the Headmaster."

"Merlin. I wish I had that power."

Apparently, the rest of the students were thinking the same thing, as a great cheer arose from the student body. Only the Slytherins remained quiet.

Albus had missed that display, but Flitwick didn't. He'd have to contact Minerva somehow. And soon.

………….

**Beauxbatons, September 2nd:**

Harry gradually awoke, feeling very weak. He couldn't remember anything at first. Wondering where he was, he remembered being at Hogwarts and the Hat, then walking… and then wishing he were with Hermione… and then nothing. Was he still at Hogwarts? Looking around, he noticed he was in a hospital bed, but the nurse that came to check on him didn't look like Madam Pomfrey. In fact, the hospital room looked subtly different. Where was he?

He tried in English first. "Where am I? Please, who are you?"

Getting an odd look, he tried in French. "Où suis-je? S'il vous plaît, qui êtes-vous ?"

"At Beauxbatons Infirmary Mr. Potter-Granger," she answered. "I am Madame Suzette."

"How did I get here?"

"That's a very good question, Mr. Potter-Granger. One that our Headmistress is very anxious to learn."

"Are you related to the Madame Suzette at the robe shop in Paris?" Harry asked.

"No, Madame Suzette in Paris… that is her first name, she is Suzette Planchette, we are not related."

Madame Maxime walked in at that moment. "Hello Mr. Potter-Granger. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I-I'm fine, Headmistress," Harry stuttered. "How did I get here? The last I remember, I was in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Please call me Harry; Mr. Potter-Granger seems as if I'm a grown-up."

"So, Harry, You were actually at Hogwarts. We suspected as much, but we don't know how you managed to Apparate through two sets of wards: Hogwarts' and Beauxbatons'."

"Odd things happened while I was at Hogwarts. I remember being angry at the Headmaster and damaging his office. Oh, and when that greasy professor tried to escort me into the castle, I remember fighting back and a sort of thick barrier seemed to form around us until he stunned me. Then, in the Great Hall, they tried to force a hat on my head to sort me and it burst into flames. After that, I just wished I was back with Hermione, but I don't remember anything after that."

"Fascinating. I wonder what happened there. Hogwarts wards are very strong. You shouldn't be able to Apparate through them. Never mind that, you shouldn't be able to Apparate here either. Curious. I felt a change in the wards last night when you arrived. I had to do some minor adjustments, but I believe the Academy wards have accepted you as a special case. We will have to investigate this more thoroughly. I'd love to have seen the look on Dumbledore's face when you disappeared.

We also have an ongoing investigation on your illegal removal from France. Monsieur Delacour, our Minister for Magic, has issued a call for the arrest of Severus Snape and the removal of Albus Dumbledore from his position as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. We'll see how Mr. Dumbledore likes to be on the receiving end, for a change."

Harry grinned at that, suspecting that the meddling old git would regret messing with him.

"Now… Harry, I expect you to rest for the rest of the day. Madame Suzette has informed me that your magical core needs… 'recharging'. Miss Granger and Misses Gabrielle and Fleur Delacour are waiting to see you." She smiled and left the infirmary.

With that, the girls entered and Hermione practically jumped on the bed to wrap Harry in a bone crushing hug. "Oh, Harry. We were afraid we'd never see you again!" Tears were falling as she continued to hug him.

"Oof. Get off, Hermione, can't breathe."

"S-sorry, Harry. I missed you. Mum and Dad were frantic! You remember Gabrielle and Fleur, don't you?"

"Hi Gaby, Fleur. I haven't seen you two since the shopping trip."

"Hi Harry," the two girls chorused. "Harry, we've saved a bed beside Hermione for you in the dorm," Gabrielle said, smiling.

"Harry blushed. "A-a b-bed? Beside H-Hermione?" he stuttered.

"Um, yeah," Hermione replied. "All the first years sleep in one large dormitory. Gabrielle and I have beds next to each other and I've saved one for you next to mine.

"Err, don't you find that a little strange, mixing boys and girls in the same room? I mean, even at home, we have separate rooms," Harry stated, nervously.

"It's accepted here," Fleur told him. "Remember, this is France, we do things a little differently than stodgy old England. You'll get a somewhat private room in second year. We team up by second year. I have one other girl in my room and some of my friends have a boy and another girl in their rooms. Friendships determine who shares a room. Maybe you, Hermione and Gabrielle will share a room in second year. Maybe by fourth year, I'll join you." Fleur smirked at Harry's obvious embarrassment.

The girls continued to visit for a few minutes more until Harry suddenly couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and lay back to sleep.

………….

Minerva met with Olympe in the Headmistresses office. "Ah, Minerva," Madame Maxime greeted her old friend. "Mr. Potter-Granger is resting comfortably in the Hospital wing." She then proceeded to tell her what she knew from what Harry had told her.

"So, Olympe, Harry just Apparated through the wards of both schools? Unbelievable! Even Albus can't do that. Amazing! And he landed on Hermione's bed? I wonder how he did that? He wouldn't have known exactly where she was in the school."

"Hmm, yes. That is a puzzler. I think Harry's emotions powered his magic and enabled him to find Hermione. He must have some sort of bond to her… perhaps a family bond."

"I should go see him when he wakes. He'll be a bit behind, but I think Hermione will quickly bring him up to date. Have you notified the Grangers yet?"

"Yes, Minerva, I did that late last night. They were worried sick. They want to see him as soon as possible. I think we'll let him rest for today and see how his magic has recovered. Madame Suzette has been giving him strengthening potions to speed his recovery. Have you met Amie Suzette yet?"

"Briefly, she seems like a competent healer."

"Yes, Amie is the best in France. I had a hard time getting her away from the Magique Hôtel de Dieu." (France's Magical equivalent of St. Mungo's)

"Good. I expect Harry will need her care. Already he's getting into scrapes, and I don't expect that to lessen anytime soon.

"I must be off, I have lessons to prepare for. We shall talk later, Olympe."

"Thank you for stopping by, Minerva, I, myself, expect to be very busy for the next few days."

………….

**September 3rd:**

Harry had been released from the hospital early that morning and had spent time getting acquainted with his quarters. He found that his bed was indeed next to Hermione's. He also discovered that there were separate facilities for boys and girls. Well, that was a relief; at least he wouldn't have to watch girls dressing or worse, bathing.

Hermione joined him for breakfast, along with Gabrielle. Harry marvelled at the food served in the Dining Chamber. The Chamber was as unlike Hogwarts Great Hall as it could be. Instead of four long tables with hard wooden benches, Beauxbatons had individual round tables that sat four with comfortable wrought iron padded chairs with fancy backs and a much more relaxed atmosphere. Several students greeted them when they entered and Harry immediately felt at home here. The food was wholesome as well. He suspected the English breakfast would bear little resemblance to the French one, and he was correct. Lots of fruit and pastries as well as a variety of juices: Grapefruit, Apple, Orange and Cranberry as well as a few he couldn't identify. Hermione pointed out the Pomegranates and Cantaloupes, as well as the Melons and Bananas. Granola and whole wheat toast rounded out the fare. Whole milk and cream were available for the granola, as well as tea and coffee.

Harry decided he rather liked his new school.

………….

**September 4th:**

The day started normally for Harry and Hermione; breakfast in the Dining Chamber, classes in Potions, followed by Charms, followed by lunch back in the Dining Chamber. Although Harry was now fluent in French; he was still getting used to speaking French; the odd English word slipped through. Hermione had no such problem, having visited France with her parents many times.

In the afternoon they had their first Defence class. The teacher, Monsieur D'Aubigne, after taking the roll, noted the two English students. "Welcome, class, to First Year Defence. Miss Granger, Mr. Potter-Granger, you may find our teaching methods a bit different than the British school. Before we start, I'd like to introduce my teaching assistant, Mlle. Cynthia Blackwell."

Cynthia curtsied and took her place on the other side of the room.

Harry straightened immediately, paying close attention. This was a class he needed to absorb as much as he could. The professor told them about the various classes of spells and curses and reminded them that several were unforgivable and use of them would land you in prison.

He then asked his teaching assistant to demonstrate a simple hex. Cynthia cast the Impedimenta spell at the professor. He let it take effect before explaining that he couldn't move. Casting a Finite on himself, he cast a small spell on his assistant that seemed to do nothing immediately, but Hermione noticed that she was trying to say something but no words came out.

"That was the Silencio spell. She would be unable to break it by simple means and is therefore unable to cast any other spells. I cast it wordlessly, but I expect that will be beyond your capabilities until sixth year, when we take up silent casting. Now, the incantation is Silencio and the wand movement is a straight poke at the subject. We will pair up and practice for the rest of the class time."

There was an odd number of students, so Harry waited with Hermione and Gabrielle. The two girls practiced, with Harry watching. Then they switched partners and Harry duelled with Gabrielle and then Hermione. The trio were fast learners, but Harry learned quickly to dodge the spell. They caught him once each and thereafter, not at all. He was too fast for them and caught them every time. Laughing, the two girls took to teaming up together to try and catch him, but Harry learned fast and caught them both before they could catch him with the spell.

Professor D'Aubigne watched, intrigued, as Harry dodged and danced away from the two girls, catching them again and again. "Very good, Mr. Potter-Granger. I'm impressed with your speed."

Harry blushed at the praise, and stuttered a thank you.

Professor McGonagall taught Transfiguration and she read the riot act right away.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex magic you will learn here. Anyone caught messing around in this class will not return." She then turned her desk into a Parrot and then back again. The students were suitably impressed and couldn't wait to learn this.

"It will be some years before you are able to do this, so for now, we will start with the basics. Remember, magic is all about intent. Let the magic flow through you and visualize exactly, down to the last detail, what you want to do."

She had them start with turning a matchstick into a needle. A basic first year spell. At the end of the class, Hermione, Gabrielle and Harry were able to do it. Harry's was not quite as sharp as Hermione's and Gabrielle's was a bit duller than Harry's, but at least they were able to do the change. McGonagall smiled at the trio. Most of the rest of the class hadn't performed as well. Some had made no change at all and were assigned extra homework practice.

"I want a half metre of parchment on the effects of concentration in magical transfiguration by next class. Dismissed. Harry, could I talk to you a moment please? You may stay as well if you wish, Hermione and Gabrielle."

They nodded and flanked Harry.

Harry looked at the girls and shrugged. "Of course, Professor.

"Harry, I'm sorry I was unable to protect you from being kidnapped the other day. The Headmistress told me about your escape. That was exceptional magic, Harry. Dumbledore couldn't have done it and as far as we know, no one else could either. We suspect that you have formed a family bond with Hermione and focused on her to take you to her."

Hermione gasped at this. "Professor, I did feel a sort of tug, just before he landed on my bed."

"Well then, I think that may solve part of the problem. The bigger problem is how you managed to break through the wards. No one has been able to figure that out yet, although I just received an owl from Professor Flitwick at Hogwarts detailing the devastation you created leaving there. Filius Flitwick and I go back many years and he is the only one I trust at Hogwarts. He will keep us informed if anything happens we should know about.

"Now off you go to your next class."

………….

The days quickly passed and Harry and Hermione formed a close friendship with Gabrielle. The trio were inseparable and helped each other out in their studies, sometimes studying late into the night. All three were top students, with Hermione slightly ahead. Harry couldn't believe the effort Hermione put in to consistently beat him. Defence was the only subject he really couldn't be topped in. He was so much faster than anyone else, that even the TA was not able to tag him with a spell.

Cynthia approached Professor D'Aubigne one day, to discuss Harry. "Professor, Mr. Potter-Granger is an exceptional student in Defence. I've never seen someone move so quickly or learn so fast. Miss Granger and Miss Delacour are simply no match for him, even when double teaming him."

"Yes, Cynthia, I have to agree. Did you hear how he arrived at school?"

"I… yes, I heard rumours but discounted them. It was true then? He Apparated through two school wards and travelled, what, over 2100 kilometres in one jump? I would have said impossible."

"Impossible indeed, yet apparently he did it. Harry continues to amaze us. The amount of magical energy to perform that feat is astounding. I think our Mr. Potter-Granger will be something of a prodigy as he grows. And he will grow, my dear. I think I will have to test his reflexes myself. Certainly I could not hope to duplicate his Apparation feats. I suspect no one could."

Professor D'Aubigne pondered over the next days, how to best test Harry's power.

………….

**Hogwarts, Headmasters office:**

The wheels of fortune had begun to turn against Albus Dumbledore. A Floo call from Cornelius Fudge, informed the Headmaster that French proceedings were instituted against him and Severus Snape. Fudge had been able to delay and deflect the charges, but now, the ICW was calling for the dismissal and removal of Albus. Snape would probably have to be given up to the French government as a sop to save Albus' job. He feared that the ICW would remove Albus from his position as Supreme Mugwump, and there was nothing Fudge could do about it.

Albus winced at this. The loss of Severus would deal a severe blow to his staff, already missing Minerva. Well, he would simply have to deal with it. His agenda must not be derailed. The Prophesy must be fulfilled. He simply had to make new plans. There was still plenty of time in any case. Potter would only need to be sacrificed when Voldemort rose again. Then he could be killed. It was a bit worrying that Harry had Apparated through wards that even he couldn't pass through. Well, that was a minor issue. Perhaps he could seize the Granger girl and force Harry back here. He'd have to look into that. Severus could be rescued if need be from wherever those damn Frenchies would incarcerate him. Château d'If, he thought. Well, there were no Dementors there. It should be a piece of cake. Let them take Severus; he would soon be back and hidden.

………….


	10. Chapter 10

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

A/N This story has added Gabrielle to the ship. No slash, the romance will develop over time.

**Chapter 10: The Tour**

**Beauxbatons: October 1st:**

Gabrielle was first up this morning, although there didn't seem to be anyone else in the dorm. Hermione followed her, and together they rousted Harry out of bed. Their first weekend had been spent studying, but this weekend, the girls wanted to relax a bit. A tickle fight with Harry ensued, with the girls quickly gaining the upper hand.

Harry was giggling madly. "Stop, hahaha. Gabrielle, Hermione, no fair." Harry gasped for breath as the girls continued their torment.

"Come on Harry," Gabrielle remonstrated, "You beat us in Defence; let's see how you do now."

Harry concentrated for a second and disappeared, only to reappear behind the girls.

"Hey! What? Where…?" Gabrielle was startled by Harry's sudden disappearance. Turning around, the girls saw Harry grinning widely.

"That's my defence! I found I could just sort of move without hardly trying. Apparation, I think, but Madame Maxime and Minerva say I shouldn't be able to do that here."

"They're right, Harry," Hermione replied. "But you seem to be a special case. You should be careful though. Already too many people have seen that. It could be a useful thing to be able to do if you are ever caught. Wards don't seem to affect you, for some reason. I wonder why?"

Gabrielle caught him in a tight hug and he melted out of her arms again. Harry now stood behind Hermione, smirking. "Can't seem to hold me, Gaby? This is too easy."

"Harry! You shouldn't be doing that. What if anyone else sees you do that. Hermione's right, it could save your life some day."

"Okay, okay, I'll be careful, but it's so much fun to watch your faces when I do it."

"Let's get some breakfast," Hermione suggested. "Then we can go outside. I'd like to explore the grounds a bit. We can hit the books later. And Harry, are you going to show Gaby the book?"

"Yeah, later," he agreed.

"What book is that, Harry?" Gabrielle asked, puzzled that he had a book that wasn't in the curriculum.

"Shh. I'll show you later. Don't want anyone else to know. Hermione, Minerva and Mum and Dad are the only ones that know, I think. Minerva says to keep it hidden."

Fleur joined them for breakfast and offered to show them around the grounds after Gabrielle mentioned that they were going outside to explore.

The day was fresh and warm, with a light breeze. Stepping outside, they could see the steep terrain that surrounded the Palace of Beauxbatons.

"Be careful where you walk," Fleur admonished. "There are severe cliffs to the north of the Palace. We are situated on the north side of Montaigne de Marseilleveyre with Marseilles directly south. The Palace has wards that will prevent anyone wandering into dangerous locations, such as the cliffs and the forbidden caves. Oh yes, I think the Headmistress told you about the caves; no?"

"Um… no," Harry answered.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione exclaimed. "Madame Maxime must have forgotten to tell you. We were all told when we were sorted."

"Sorted? When did I get sorted?"

"Oh dear. We've been here for weeks and you didn't know?" Fleur questioned.

"Harry, you were sorted into Dragon Group, as were we," Gabrielle explained. It must have been while you were unconscious. There are three 'Groups', Dragon, Centaur and Unicorn."

"What's the significance of those names," Harry asked.

Fleur explained. "Dragons are very brave and feisty. They are also highly intelligent but are quick to anger. Centaurs are very thoughtful and make excellent seers. This group is quite small and is chosen at birth. Unicorns are powerful magically and typically end up as healers. I think the sorting almost put you in the Unicorn Group, but decided that you would work better in Dragon. Of course, the Groups are only arbitrary and some people are hard to place."

"Who does the sorting?" Harry persisted.

"Oh, you haven't met her yet. That would be Madame Persephone. She's our resident seer and apparently has made many accurate prophecies. It's a rare gift, and I'm told that old fraud at Hogwarts has only made one real prophecy. There are rumours of that prophecy, of course, but they all point to you, Harry."

Harry was startled at this revelation. "Me? Why me? What does it say?"

"We don't know, Harry. Just that it has something to do with your scar and why Voldemort tried to kill you," Fleur responded.

Harry shuddered at the name. He couldn't say why, but hatred and fear welled up in him in equal portions. Hatred for the loss of his parents and fear that Voldemort might still be around. He remembered Minerva telling him that Voldemort had died when he tried to kill Harry, but something inside him suspected that was not quite true. He hoped he was wrong.

He had the book 'Protecting Yourself From Dark Spells and Curses' that he'd bought in Diagon Alley and decided he'd better start studying it, just in case. Hermione had already read the first few chapters and had shuddered at the curses described inside.

Fleur interrupted his thoughts when she again mentioned the caves.

"What about the caves?" Harry queried.

"Right behind the Palace are a series of magical caves. They are warded against entrance but the wards fail from time to time. Madame Maxime has tried to make them permanent, but the inherent magic of the caves, works against the wards. It's as if the caves want someone to enter them. The Headmistress won't tell anyone what is in the caves, but the rumours are that once you enter, you don't ever come out."

Hermione, who had some caving experience with her parents, had a healthy respect for caves. "There could be all kinds of traps and dangerous parts of any cave; and one that is magical could be especially dangerous," she said.

Fleur continued with the tour. "The forest surrounds the Palace just outside the wards. The road up here is disillusioned, so that Muggles can't find it. Even your parents will not be able to find the road again. It does go through the forest, but is also warded to protect travellers. There are many creatures in the forest that aren't found in the Muggle world: Hippogriffs, Graphorns*, Centaurs, Gytrashs,* and Giants. There is also a small colony of Unicorns living deep in the forest, but they are rarely seen. You will learn about these creatures in your Magical Creatures class. There was a rumour of a Dragon that had been seen, but nobody has confirmed that. In any case, Dragons are mostly kept on Dragon Reserves in Romania."

The long sloping lawn surrounding the Palace was neatly manicured and verdant. Harry could see wildflowers in small flowerbeds interspersed haphazardly throughout the walk. The smell was rich and spicy and altogether exhilarating.

"Don't touch the flowers, Harry," Fleur exhorted. "They help keep the grounds free of insect pests."

They had walked some distance and came upon a large lake. The crystal clear waters showed a rocky bottom with several small fish swimming around. A sudden eruption near the centre of the lake produced a waterspout, followed by a large shape breaking the surface. Fleur laughed as the trio jumped back in surprise. "That's Paracelsus. He's a Kelpie and he's harmless."

"A Kelpie? He looks like a Loch Ness Monster to me," Hermione retorted.

"Well, that's what the Loch Ness Monster is. Paracelsus is quite a bit smaller though," Fleur replied.

The large shape disappeared beneath the water, diving to a deeper part of the lake.

"Uh, Fleur. Just how deep is the lake?" Harry asked, certain that he didn't want to go swimming anytime soon. Even if he knew how to swim, which he didn't.

"We don't really know," she replied. "I think it might be several hundred metres deep."

"But it looks so clear. I can see the bottom."

"That's just near the shore. There is a sudden drop off a few hundred metres from the shore," she explained.

As they made their way around the Palace, they realised the layout of their school was quite different in the back from the front. There were three large wings and the greenhouses were just off to the right of the centre wing.

"You see the Groups' separate wings from here. Dragon Group occupies the one on the far right. Unicorn has the centre and Centaur has the left one. The staff are housed off the main building on the second floor. Behind you are the magical caves."

Harry and the girls turned to see a shimmering darkness that stretched for approximately one hundred metres and fell off into a deeper darkness beyond.

They all shuddered at the sight. "It feels… I don't know, evil, somehow," Harry stated.

"Yes, I feel it too," Hermione stuttered. "Almost as if there's something alive about it."

Gabrielle shivered and grabbed Harry for comfort. "We should go," she said. "It feels wrong."

"That's just the wards, Gabrielle. It's meant to keep people away," Fleur assured them.

"Let's go. I don't like it. It's spooky." She laughed nervously and turned back.

Harry and Hermione had to agree, although Harry could somehow sense a presence behind the wards. He didn't say anything, but filed it away in his mind for future reference.

It was almost time for lunch when they finally made their way back to the front entrance. Fleur took her leave with an, "I'll see you three later. I have an errand to take care of," and she left, walking quickly toward a small hut they had not seen before.

"I wonder who lives there?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Fleur told me that that's where the groundskeeper lives. He takes care of the Pegasus team we have," Gabrielle remarked.

"Pegasus? Flying horses are real?" Harry asked, shocked.

"Of course, Harry. How do you think we get around when we have a class outing? They pull a magical carriage that can hold twenty people comfortably, including the Headmistress," Gabrielle replied.

"Wow, I can't wait to experience that."

Hermione had to agree. It was indeed a school full of magical things. She wondered absently if Hogwarts had anything to compare, but supposed they had their own surprises for first year students.

…………

**French Ministry of Magic, Paris:**

Henri Delacour addressed his ministers in the conference room. "Harry Potter-Granger has returned to Beauxbatons. Nobody knows how he did it, he apparently Apparated right through the wards. Now, how are we doing regarding the extradition of Severus Snape?"

"We have him in custody at Chateau d'If, Minister," his senior Intergovernmental Affairs Minister replied. He chuckled, "I don't think he was too happy when we… ahem, 'booted his sorry arse' in there."

"Allain, we'll have to keep an eye on him. He can't Apparate out of there and the… um, 'protections' will insure that he doesn't get far if he somehow escapes. We wouldn't want him to fall victim to misfortune, now would we?" Henri laughed at this. Apparently it was a well enjoyed secret among the Ministry elite what would happen if one were to foolishly attempt an escape.

…………

**Hogwarts:**

Albus Dumbledore missed his loyal Potions Master. Replacing him had been difficult and the current holder of the teaching post was just barely competent. Replacing McGonagall was even more difficult. Transfiguration teachers were plentiful, just not up to the high standards expected of the premier school of magic in Great Britain and Europe. He sighed. "Perhaps I shouldn't have expressed my views so openly."

Filius Flitwick had been observing the level of teaching that now had reached all time lows in three subjects. The Minister for Magic had insisted on filling the three positions: Delence, Potions and Transfiguration. All three had been a disaster, as far as he was concerned. The fool teaching Potions had ruined several perfectly good cauldrons and sent several students to the Hospital Wing when he had incorrectly added Ashwinder eggs to an unstable sleeping potion. The resulting explosion had nearly killed young Neville Longbottom. As it was, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan had all been confined to the hospital for two weeks now.

…………

Several other students, including Draco Malfoy had been less seriously injured, but had complained to their parents. Draco's father had considered removing his son from Hogwarts and placing him at Durmstrang. Lucius considered it, but his wife, Narcissa, vetoed the idea. Durmstrang was too far away and besides, it would look bad for the son of a Hogwarts Governor to go to Durmstrang.

Molly Weasley was furious. That her youngest son had been injured was bad enough, but to have Harry Potter disappear from under the Headmaster's nose was more than enough for her to send a Howler to Albus.

Needless to say, the Headmaster was not amused. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse. His several attempts to have Severus released to his custody had been rebuffed by the French. "Time to take drastic measures," he muttered to himself.

…………

**Marseilles, Granger residence:**

Jane was busy making dinner when Dan stepped through the door to the kitchen. Hugging his wife and placing a kiss on her neck, he inquired if she had heard anything new from Hermione and Harry.

"Hedwig arrived earlier when you were out, dear." She handed him the letter and as he read it, he smiled.

"It looks like they're fitting in well, Jane. Hermione mentions that Harry is to be tested for his magical power, this month. I wonder why? She doesn't mention that she would be tested."

"You remember that he broke through the wards at both schools, Dan. Hermione tells me that should have been impossible. Our son seems to be much more powerful than they imagined."

Dan laughed. "I see he's asked the professors to call him Harry or Harry Granger and forget the hyphenated Potter-Granger." Dan turned sober as he realised the implications. "T-that means…"

"He fully accepts us as his parents," Jane finished. "Oh, Dan! I had hoped he would, now it seems it's true." Her eyes were shining as she said that.

…………

**Beauxbatons, October 5th:**

Harry had now been auditing the Enchanting class for several weeks now and had begun to grasp some of the ideas the professor was talking about. Hermione, by his side as always, had found the subject difficult but was able to follow what was said. She had tried a few simple enchantments, but was unable to make any difference to the objects. Oh, she was able to transfigure them, but they wouldn't stay. Harry's stayed a bit longer, but he hadn't made as much progress as the rest of the class. Of course, they were sixth and seventh years, but he had hoped that with the Enchanting book, he'd be able to make a more permanent change. Well, he'd just have to keep practicing.

The test of his powers was scheduled for next day, and Harry was nervous. He didn't know what the tests would show, or even how they would be done.

Gabrielle and Hermione assured him that he had nothing to worry about. "It's just a test, Harry," Hermione told him. You can't fail; it's not that kind of test."

Harry remained unconvinced. "They may see that I may have a couple of special talents, but I'm sure I'm not that powerful. I mean, Hermione regularly beats me in class except for Defence."

Let's tell Gabrielle about the book, Harry," Hermione suggested. That would get his mind off the test.

"Yeah, Harry. You promised."

"Okay, we were shopping in a bookstore in Ipswich and I ran across this really old book. I could see the writing in it, but the shopkeeper couldn't so he practically gave it to me. It's a book on enchanting. Minerva thinks it might have been Merlin's."

He dug it out of his book bag and sat under a tree by the lake. The sun was low and they checked a few of the first pages. Hermione had just about figured out the first ten pages, but she couldn't make any of the spells work.

Gabrielle tried a couple after Hermione translated for her. The first one was a household enchantment to keep a fire burning. "That sounds like Everlasting Fire, Harry. I'm not sure we should try that one. What if we can't put it out? Or, if it's Fiendfyre, that would be even worse!"

"Well, I tried it," Hermione complained, "And nothing happened."

"Let's try something safer," Gabrielle suggested. "Is there one for changing a rock to a flower?"

Hermione studied the first few pages carefully, before shaking her head. Most of what I'm reading sounds really advanced. You could try changing a stone to a sword… or is it a dagger? The writing is hard to read and is very faded in places. Yes, a dagger, I think. Harry, try this one."

Harry looked closely at the spell. The wand movements seemed complicated, but after auditing the Enchanting class for a month, he thought he could manage it.

Picking up a hefty stone from the shore, Harry concentrated on the spell and poked his wand in a complicated pattern at the stone. At first, nothing happened, and then, slowly, the stone elongated, forming a small blade. The stone glowed orange and became quite warm until Harry dropped it in shock. He looked at the object on the ground that had stuck into the turf. A dagger of about twenty centimetres had appeared from the stone. The handle wasn't quite right, though. It looked like the stone had only partially transformed. The blade was almost perfect, however.

Gabrielle clapped her hands in glee. "You did it, Harry! That wand movement looked really complicated and I think you may not have concentrated hard enough on the spell. See, the dagger blade is nice and…"

But then, the dagger reverted back to the stone. The enchantment hadn't held. And Harry collapsed unconscious.

…………

* A/N: From the HP Lexicon:

Graphorn: A large, greyish-purple creature, which lives in the mountains. Graphorns have two extremely sharp horns. They are extremely dangerous animals. Graphorn horns are useful for potions and Graphorn hide is even tougher than dragon hide and also repels spells.

Gytrash: A huge, spectral hound that lives in forests. The Gytrash, in the form of a huge dog, horse, or mule, haunts solitary places.


	11. Chapter 11

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

A/N2: Since some readers asked, I will state that this will not be a threesome. Harry, Hermione and Gabrielle will be like a Harry, Hermione and Ron trio. Not saying who will wind up with Harry at the end.

**Chapter 11: Flight**

The girls looked in horror as Harry lay on the ground. Gabrielle was the first to react, "Quickly, Hermione, we have to get him to the Infirmary. Madame Suzette will want to see him immediately."

Fortunately, they had just learned the levitation spell and they both cast "Wingardium Leviosa" on Harry. He floated up and they guided him back to the Palace. Soon they were in the Infirmary, trying to explain to Madame Suzette what had happened.

"H-he cast this really difficult spell, Madame Suzette," Hermione tearfully related. "And-and then when the spell broke, he collapsed."

"What was the spell, child?" Madame Suzette requested.

"We think it was an enchantment to turn a stone into a dagger," Gabrielle suggested. "The dagger formed and hit the ground, but then it reverted back to a stone."

"And then Harry collapsed," Hermione added unnecessarily.

Madame Suzette hissed a breath in and shook her head, "Foolish boy. He's playing with advanced magic that he doesn't understand. Gabrielle, could you get Madame Maxime and Professor McGonagall. We may have a problem."

After Gabrielle had left in search of the two people that might know something about this, Madame Suzette thought of one other that probably could help. "Hermione," the Healer turned to the other girl, "we need your Enchanting class teacher, Monsieur Brabant. He's probably in his quarters on the second floor. Quickly, Hermione."

Hermione raced to the staff quarters, not knowing which room the professor was assigned. Fortunately, she practically ran into him as he was going to dinner.

"Professor," she gasped. "Harry has collapsed. Madam Suzette asked me to get you. He tried a really hard enchantment and…"

"Foolish boy! The magic has backfired on him! He didn't envision it properly. What enchantment did he try, Miss Granger? I warned him."

"He tried, um… changing a stone into a dagger," she replied weakly.

"He WHAT? He tried to make an enchanted athamé? Where did he get a spell to do that? We don't teach that advanced magic here. That's magic beyond seventh year."

"Well, he has this really old book…"

"Miss Granger! I'm surprised at you. You're supposed to let me see and review any tomes not on the approved study list. Where's the book?"

"Um, Gabrielle Delacour had it. She left it in the Infirmary with Harry."

When they reached the infirmary, they looked around for the book. Monsieur Brabant, not seeing it, asked, "So, where is Harry's book and where did he get it?" The professor was getting interested now. "Do you know who wrote it? Just how old is it?" They then heard a soft groan and saw that Harry was just waking up.

"Harry, you're awake! You scared us half to death!" Hermione admonished, but rushed to hug him anyway.

Gabrielle had just arrived with Madame Maxime and Professor McGonagall in tow.

"Where's the book, Harry?" Professor Brabant enquired.

Harry reluctantly showed him the book. "I thought I had a good visualization of the object like you explained, Professor. Apparently, I forgot the handle."

Professor Brabant was quickly scanning Harry's book. He gasped when he saw the age of the book and started noting the enchantments and spells on the thick book. Apparently, the more pages you turned, the more appeared. What at first looked like a personal diary, turned out to be an enchanted book that seemed to go on for hundreds, if not thousands of pages.

"This is fascinating, Harry. The date leads me to believe it was a lost diary of Merlin Ambrosius (or the Welsh _Myrddin Emrys_). We know him as Merlin from King Arthur's time."

Minerva nodded. "I suspected as much. The date 542 matches as well."

"Where did you get this, Harry?" Brabant asked.

"There was this Muggle bookstore in Ipswich that we were browsing, to kill a bit of time. I spotted the book and bought it for ten pence."

Professor Brabant practically fainted. "Ten Pence? This book is priceless! Most of these enchantments and spells have been lost for centuries. Oh, there are probably some that we know about, but just a quick glance tells me that you have a real find here. I suggest you keep it hidden! If a dark wizard ever got hold of it, well, I shudder to think of the havoc he could wreak."

"I have a safe place for it Professor. Only I can retrieve it. One of the simple spells I learned from the first page was a hiding charm. Hermione is the only other person that can find it." And with that, Harry muttered something and the book disappeared.

"My word! Well, I can see that it's safe. I wouldn't mind a closer look at the book if you'd let me, Harry. It really should be in the Restricted Section of our library, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be safe there."

"Well, Professor, I'd prefer to keep it safe with me for now, if you don't mind. It seems like a sensible precaution to let as few people as possible see the book. Of course I'd be happy to share some of the spells and enchantments with you, but only after we determine which ones shouldn't be shown to anyone… ones that are dangerous. I hope you understand, Professor."

"Of course, Harry. Your reasons are sound. I only hope I can assist you on some of these enchantments. The possibilities are exciting to contemplate. You do know you attempted to make an athame, don't you?"

"What's an athamé, Professor?"

"An athamé is a ceremonial double-edged dagger, used in rituals and spells as an extension of their body. The athamé's primary use is to direct energy. An athamé can take many forms. It frequently has a double-edged blade with a sharp point, and a handle, which is often black. The handle may be inscribed with particular symbols dictated by the tradition. An athamé may also be employed in the demarcation of the Magic circle rite and as a masculine principle, or a male symbol representing the reproductive organ of the Horned God who impregnated the Goddess Gaia to give birth to the Earth and nature. It is often used in combination with the chalice, as feminine principle, evoking the act of procreation, as a symbol of universal creativity."

Harry and Hermione blushed scarlet at this description. He wouldn't be trying that particular enchantment anytime soon.

"Uh, thank you professor, too much information," Harry blushed again.

"Harry, don't worry about it. This is France: we have a more liberal outlook on male - female relations here. We're more open about human sexuality and the athamé is more about focusing a wizard's power than sex."

Hermione quickly decided to do a bit of research on the athamé and its uses.

Gabrielle giggled and thought that it might be fun to tease Harry about what he almost created.

Minerva and Madame Maxime admonished Harry to be very careful with the book and not try anything without proper supervision.

"Harry, you could have died with the magical backlash," Professor McGonagall stated. "Your parents will be most unhappy that you tried something without proper supervision, especially something like this."

"Y-you w-wouldn't tell them, would you?" Harry pleaded.

"Harry, what would they have said if you'd died? I must tell them."

Harry hung his head, ashamed. He'd only just gotten used to his new family and now they'd be disappointed in him. "May I be excused, please?" Harry asked, tearfully.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to upset you. You may go," McGonagall replied.

Harry practically fled the infirmary, with Hermione and Gabrielle close behind.

"Wait up, Harry," Hermione called.

Harry broke into a run, heading outside.

Gabrielle was the faster runner, but still couldn't keep up with Harry, who quickly disappeared around the corner of the school. As she rounded the corner, she lost sight of him for a second and then spotted him running flat out, before disappearing around another corner.

Hermione struggled to keep up, but quickly ran out of breath. As she rounded the second corner, she came up short, almost running into a shocked Gabrielle. "Where is he, Gaby? He couldn't have been that far ahead of us."

"He…he just disappeared! One minute he was about fifty metres ahead of me and the next, he was gone!"

"Do you think he Apparated somewhere?"

"I-I think so, we should check the rest of the way around the Academy. Why did he run?" Gabrielle asked.

"I don't know. He seemed really upset when… Oh, no! I think he was afraid Mum and Dad would… But that's ridiculous. Mum and Dad love him, he must know that."

After circling the Academy and not seeing Harry, the girls headed inside to check their dorm. He wasn't there and they started to panic. Asking everyone they came across if they'd seen Harry, and receiving negative responses, Hermione decided they needed to notify the Headmistress.

………..

**Hogwarts:**

Filius Flitwick had kept an eye on the Headmaster since the disappearance of Harry. The owl that he had received from Minerva had assured him that Harry was safe at Beauxbatons. The trouble was, Albus was now so distracted that Filius suspected the aged Headmaster was up to something. He would disappear for hours at a time and sometimes forgot to attend staff meetings that he had set up. The accident with Neville Longbottom had resulted in the new Potions Professor being sacked. His replacement was only marginally better. Meanwhile, Neville, along with Draco, had recovered, and classes had settled into an uneasy routine.

The Weasley twins were even quiet; an unusual state for them. Fred had been in awe of the magic Harry had displayed, while George spread the rumour that Harry had completely destroyed the Hogwarts wards, although this was later proven false.

Only the Slytherins had missed Professor Snape. Draco had owled his father to find out what had happened. Lucius had replied that Draco's Godfather had been arrested and sent to prison in France, but things were underway to secure his release. He would say no more on the subject.

Albus, meanwhile, having exhausted all the legal channels to secure Severus' release, was busily planning a diversion. He would have his Potions Master back within the fortnight.

……………..


	12. Chapter 12

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M (for language)

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

**Chapter 12: The Cave (Part 1)**

Harry looked around, wondering where he was. It was definitely dark, although a dim light seemed to flicker in the distance off to his right. Extracting his wand from his pocket, he whispered "Lumos" and his wand tip flared briefly before he was violently thrown to the floor. He felt around for his wand, as it had extinguished and rolled away from him when he fell. "Well, that was unexpected," he said nervously to the darkness. He had picked up a scraped knee in the process and it hurt. Nothing seemed to be broken and he counted himself lucky.

The flickering light in the distance had gone out and he was in complete darkness. In fact, darkness so deep that he could see nothing, not even his hand in front of his face. Carefully feeling around, he managed to locate his wand and then paused to take stock of his situation. The floor felt to be uneven and rough, much like gravel or rock. "I wonder if I've Apparated inside the caves?" he whispered. By carefully regaining his feet and feeling around, he located a rough stone wall. He concentrated hard, trying to Apparate out, but all he managed to do was to give himself a headache. He could feel the magic now; subtle and threatening as he had felt it outside. '_Best not use my wand,'_ Harry thought.

There were other things that Harry took note of: the cave was cold, as he imagined it might be, although the rock wall was quite warm. There was a definite breeze coming from behind him, but it quickly subsided and he lost all sense of direction. '_Which way should I go?'_ he wondered.

…………

Madame Maxime had summoned Professor McGonagall as soon as Hermione and Gabrielle had reported Harry missing. "Where did you last see Harry?" she asked.

"We looked everywhere, Headmistress," Hermione said worriedly. "We think he may have gone to the caves. It's the only place, other than the forest, that we couldn't check and the forest was not close enough."

"He could have Apparated to the forest, Hermione," Gabrielle stated fearfully.

"He wouldn't have done that, Gabrielle," Hermione replied. "He doesn't know what's in there. He'd be afraid… Although, why would he go to the caves?"

"It was the closest thing to where I last saw him," Gabrielle replied.

"Oh dear. That's very bad!" Madame Maxime stated. "Nobody has been in there for generations. The last person that went in there never came out. There are tales… but enough of this. We will institute a search of the school and grounds. If he indeed is in the caves, we can only hope he finds a way out. There is serious magic in there. Nobody has been able to figure out just what kind of magic, but I can tell you it's dark magic. There is an evil presence that can be felt at the entrance. Pray that Harry doesn't encounter it if he's in there."

Minerva shivered at the thought. "I'll have to tell his parents. I'm not looking forward to that. Let's hope he turns up soon."

Hermione and Gabrielle were almost in tears at the thought that Harry might be in the caves.

The school was searched thoroughly as well as the extensive grounds, to no avail. As each teacher reported in, the awful truth was finally admitted: Harry had somehow managed to find a way into the caves.

At this point, Hermione broke down completely, sobbing, and although Minerva tried to console her, she fled to her bed and buried her face in her pillow, crying her eyes out. Gabrielle also tried to comfort the stricken girl, to no avail.

…………

As Harry wandered deeper into the cave, he eventually came across a branch to the right. Undecided which fork to take, he sat down for a moment. That's when he spotted a softly glowing rock a few metres ahead in the left fork of the cave. As he approached the rock, the soft glow flared brightly, startling him. He paused, and then reached down to pick up the rock. As soon as he touched it, he found himself jerked violently to another place.

"It must be a Portkey," he said aloud.

As he stumbled to his feet, he noticed that there was a dim light in this part of the cave; for indeed, he was still in the cave. The rock walls gave off a greenish light: dim, but enough to see by.

Examining his new location carefully, he noticed that the rock he had touched was now just an ordinary rock. Picking it up, he pocketed it for later examination. "I wonder if my wand will work in here now." He thought aloud. Carefully he again tried a soft 'Lumos', and to his surprise, it worked as the wand tip lit. Unexpectedly, however, the green glow from the walls turned a bright orange and he could see odd markings on the wall.

Harry decided that it was bright enough to see without his wand so he said 'Nox' to extinguish it. The wand flared briefly and went out. Unfortunately, so did the bright orange walls. Harry was left in the dark again. The walls slowly returned to the former dim greenish light. "Curious," he murmured.

Deciding to explore a bit further, he made his way through the cave system, remembering to mark an arrow on the ground when he came to a branch. The greenish light gave the cave an eerie feeling and once, he thought he heard a soft swish of wings behind him, but when he turned, nothing was there. The cave slowly wound around, up and down, never seeming to go anywhere. Once, he came across one of his direction arrows and decided he'd made a complete circle. "I'll have to mark this one again, so I don't use it."

He'd come across several dead ends and narrow, low spots and decided to retrace his route to the next branching. After awhile, he knew he was hopelessly lost. The light had subtly changed again and he decided to use his wand. The walls sprang to a deep violet this time and finally he could see moving shapes ahead of him.

Startled, he stared for a minute, until he figured it was just a shadow of himself somehow projected ahead. The shadow moved exactly as he moved and after awhile he ignored it. He figured he had wandered for several hours now, and was getting hungry.

As he proceeded further down one branch, he smelled an odd odour. The farther he walked, the stronger the odour became, until quite suddenly he was standing beside a pool of water. At least it looked like water until he examined it closely. The violet light and his wand light reflected off a sort of grayish liquid. Carefully walking around the pool, which he estimated to be ten to twelve metres wide, he began to notice something in the pool. Something that moved! Quickly backing up, he just missed being grabbed by what appeared to be razor sharp teeth set in a jaw that had snapped closed on empty air where he had been a second before.

Not wanting to be something's meal, he ran as fast as he could, eventually stumbling blindly over what appeared to be the remains of a human skeleton. Although, remains would be a slight exaggeration, as all he saw was a skull and pelvis.

Fear had now firmly gripped Harry and he blindly fled downward in a slow sweeping curve deeper into the cave. The light abruptly changed again: this time a soft white, tinged with an ever-changing rainbow of colours. The air had turned colder here and he finally had to stop to gather his breath. Panting heavily, he sat down to rest. As he sat, wondering how he would ever find his way out of the cave, a shuffling sound behind him awoke him to the fact he most definitely wasn't alone in the cave. "W-who's there?" he called softly. He was answered by a grunt and a pair of red eyes flashed in the soft light. The creature was unlike anything he had seen before. The long snout with the sharp teeth told him immediately that it was the monster from the pool. Backing away, he had a good look at a creature from somebody's worst nightmare. A long alligator like body with short claw like legs, beady red eyes on stalks that turned in all directions and a long tail with sharp spikes that whipped furiously back and forth. The creature was large, about ten metres long and a metre wide at the body. The tail was another five metres long and Harry figured that any of those spikes that hit him would probably prove fatal. _'The pool must have been very deep to hold this creature,'_ Harry thought. _'Time to go_,_'_ and he resumed running, with the creature close behind.

…………

The professors had all examined the cave entrance, but were unable to approach closer than ten metres. The wards were strong and still in place.

"How would he get inside?" Minerva questioned. "The wards would prevent Apparation, wouldn't they?"

"Harry seems to be a special case," Olympe answered. "I wonder why he doesn't Apparate out though?"

"Maybe he can't. Perhaps he's hurt."

"Is there anything in the Library about the caves, Olympe?" Minerva asked.

"The librarian and Gabrielle are looking. I think Miss Delacour has finally calmed Miss Granger down and she's probably helping search as well.

Hermione and Gabrielle were indeed frantically searching the Beauxbatons Library. Tome after tome passed through their hands, as they looked for any reference to the caves. The Librarian, Madame Angelique Heriot, was furiously looking through her index cards for any reference.

Finally, Hermione spotted a reference in an ancient book, but it was just a short sentence mentioning an ancient curse placed on the caves. "Gabrielle! There's a curse on the caves! No wonder they're warded."

"What does it say about the curse, Hermione?"

"Umm, nothing. The sentence is at the end of the page and the next page is… missing!"

Madame Heriot was there in a rush. "What do you mean the page is missing? That cannot be! **Merde****! Vandales**!" she cried. "Who would vandalize my precious books? I will skewer them!"

Gabrielle continued to search and only found the odd reference to the caves. "It appears that they warded the caves almost a thousand years ago, but it doesn't say why. There is a part of this page missing as well!"

The Librarian was almost apoplectic with rage. "So! Someone will pay for this outrage! They had better be long dead, because they will wish they were if I catch them!"

The trio continued to look, but could find no reference to the curse. Oh, there were references to disappearances over the centuries, and a vague reference to the curse, but nothing of substance.

…………

Harry continued to run, going deeper into the cave system. He could hear the monster behind him and it seemed to be gaining on him. The cave wall continued to shift colours; bright, dim, white, red, rainbow, blue and finally darkness. He had made so many turns now, that he was hopelessly lost. Once, he even managed to double back and avoid the creature but then a small sound betrayed him and the chase was on once again. At least it was light again.

He was now heading upward and the going was much more difficult. Panting, sweat rolling off his forehead; he desperately tried to Apparate. Nothing! At least there was no headache this time. He came to another branch in the cave and headed down again. The monster's sounds receded and he breathed a shaky sigh of relief. Harry decided he needed to move on and put as much distance between himself and the creature, which he decided to call a Cave Alligator.

The problem remained: how to get out of the cave! Rounding a particularly sharp corner, he could see a faint reddish light. Cautiously, he crept forward, wand out, keeping to the sides of the cave. Hardly daring to breathe, he finally came to the source of the light. It was a torch, flaring weakly, as if the fuel for the light was almost used up. He waited, searching the area, which had widened considerably. Then he saw it. A snake. Not just an ordinary snake, but a truly gigantic snake. This one was blood red and must have measured thirty metres long. A pile of old bones told a tale of some unlucky person that probably wound up as the snake's meal. Harry shivered in fear, until he remembered: he could talk to snakes! He remembered talking to snakes in Aunt Petunia's garden.

§ "Ssalutations ssnake," he hissed.

This startled the snake, which by this time had spotted Harry and decided he'd make a quick snack. § "A sspeaker," replied the snake. "How is it you sspeak our language, tasty one?"

§ "I have had the gift ssince birth, oh great one," Harry replied.

Harry and the great snake eyed one another, each judging the threat from the other. Harry knew the snake could kill him in one bite. The huge serpent realised that Harry was no ordinary prey, since he had got this far without being eaten.

§ "Why are you here, youngling?"

§ "I accidentally Apparated here and can't seem to Apparate back."

§ "Ssso," the great snake hissed. "You are trapped in this labyrinth. You are doomed: I may as well eat you now and ssave you the pain of further encounterss with the truly evil oness."

Harry had not expected that. § "Iss there no way out?"

§ "Oh, there are many ways out, but I expect you will not live long enough to find them. Come, I will make it easy for you, and you will fill a hunger I have for tassty humanss."

Harry shuddered and quickly made up his mind. § "Thankss, but I'd rather take my chancess with the labyrinth." With that, Harry quickly turned and ran, ducking into a side channel that looked too small for the snake to follow. It was very dark and he lit his wand. The wand tip lit briefly before being extinguished as he stumbled. The sharp pain of his head colliding with the side of the cave wall made his head ring. Fighting off the pain and blackness that threatened to overcome him, he staggered onward. The cave continued to narrow and he found he was reduced to crawling in some spots. After a particularly tight spot, the cave opened up into a large cavern.

"Hmm. At least there's proper light here," Harry observed. There appeared to be no exit from the cavern at first glance. A slow drip, drip from the roof met a pool of water near the centre of the cavern. Harry, already wary of pools, approached the pool carefully. As he peered into the depths, he thought he saw Hermione. Blinking his eyes, the image changed to Gabrielle.

"Now that's just weird," he thought aloud.

More images came: Jane and Dan, Minerva, Fleur, and finally his real Mum and Dad. He was so fascinated by the images, that he almost missed the sudden surge in the pool. Jumping back, Harry avoided the Cave Alligator snapping at his face, missing him by centimetres. The fetid breath of the monster turned his stomach and he stumbled back, falling to the hard stone floor. Another surge and the monster was out of the pool, red eyes gleaming evilly. Harry had scrabbled back and dove through the tight tunnel he had just exited from. The fit was tight, but the monster was unable to get at him.

Harry now faced a dilemma. A Cave Alligator in front of him and a very large snake behind.

………………..


	13. Chapter 13

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M (for language)

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

**Chapter 13: The Cave (Part 2)**

Hermione and Gabrielle had exhausted the library and basically had come up with nothing useful. Someone didn't want anyone to know the secrets of the cave. Madame Heriot had been in a fit of rage over the vandalizing of her precious books. They estimated that at least nine books had pages referring to the cave missing or mutilated. Madame Maxime had been notified and was equally irate.

"If we knew what the curse was, we may be able to negate it. As it is, no one can enter the cave. We don't know anything—even the length or depth of the cave. The wards protecting the entrance are very strong. Even I can't break them. How Harry was able to Apparate in there, I don't know. But then, he's surprised us before. If he got in, why can't he get out?"

"Perhaps I can answer that," Professor Brabant interrupted, striding into the Headmistress' office.

"Alain! What have you found?"

"Apparently the caves are absorbing Harry's magic. If he casts a spell, the cave just uses the magic to re-enforce its own magic. Eventually, if Harry used his magic continually, it would drain every bit out of him. He would become a squib, or worse, it might kill him."

The people in the room gave a collective gasp. "NO!" Hermione screamed. "H-he c-can't… I-I n-need him." Hermione trailed off, tears quickly forming and she collapsed into the nearest chair.

……………

Harry stared at the small exit from his sanctuary. The Cave Alligator was trying to reach into the small opening: fortunately with no success. The razor sharp claws scrabbled on the hard rock but could not reach Harry. Behind Harry, a dozen metres or so, the large snake waited patiently.

§ "Come, boy, I can ssmell your fear. Let me end your misery. You cannot esscape."

Harry ignored the snake, concentrating on how to advance to a safer place. Over the next few hours (or was it days?) Harry thought of and discarded plan after plan. It would have been nice to pit the snake against the Alligator, but he couldn't think of any way to get that to happen. Apparently, the snake wasn't interested in the Alligator or vice-versa. He was getting really hungry now. He knew better than to use his wand for anything beyond simple spells, after the bizarre behaviour it had given him. Then he remembered the Portkey in his pocket. But that was no use: it was now inactive. _'I wonder if I can enchant it back to life?'_ he thought. Trying to think of the spells he'd seen in the book and what he'd heard Professor Brabant teaching to the older students, he began to remember bits and pieces of the spell. _'But I can't do it in this tight spot, I'll need some room in case...'_

The Cave Alligator eventually gave up and slid back into the pool. Harry waited another two hours to make sure and was about to leave his hidey-hole when a splash told him that the creature was back. _'Damn,'_ he thought. _'I should have moved sooner!'_

As Harry waited once more, he felt a soft rumbling travel through the walls of the cave. _'Now what?'_ he wondered in apprehension. The rumbling grew louder and he heard the Cave Alligator suddenly dash for the pool, and with a splash, disappear. Becoming alarmed, Harry peered out into the cavern. What he saw left him gasping in astonishment. Some kind of creature was slowly emerging from the far wall of the cavern. It was huge, almost as big as the cavern: brilliant red with scales and a roughly humanoid body. It seemed to melt through the solid rock face of the wall until it stood in the centre of the cavern. Heat rolled off its body in waves and as it examined its surroundings. Letting out a bellow of rage, a five-metre flame erupted from its mouth, striking the wall close to the opening where Harry hid. Fortunately, Harry had withdrawn farther back into the tunnel or he would have been roasted alive. As it was, sweat poured off him from the intense heat. Apparently, the monster was hungry and missed its usual prey. His arm was starting to throb painfully from when he'd fallen on it early on.

'_I hope it gets that Cave Alligator,'_ he thought. Although, now that he thought of it, this monster was infinitely worse. He waited and eventually the monster, which he called a Cave Rock Giant, turned and exited the way it came, leaving the rough rock wall undisturbed. All was quiet for the next hour as Harry debated what to do. Should he chance leaving his sanctuary and cast the Portkey enchantment, which by this time he had fully remembered. Deciding that he couldn't stay where he was, he took the chance and quietly crept from his hiding place. Now he knew why the walls were warm. If that monster roamed the tunnels and caverns, he stood no chance of escaping it for long.

As he entered the cavern, he noticed that it was considerably warmer than before. _'Duh, well that's to be expected!'_ Picking the rock/Portkey from his pocket, he sat down and began the chant. He didn't need his wand until the last part of the incantation. This would be a permanent reusable Portkey and might come in handy again. Glancing at the pool warily, all seemed calm, but he knew the Cave Alligator could emerge without warning. Sweating heavily, he continued, carefully constructing the enchantment. At last, he placed his wand on the stone and completed the sequence. The rock glowed blue for a moment and he grabbed it, just as the Cave Alligator surged out of the pond.

……………

**Hogwarts / Chateau D'If:**

Albus Dumbledore made his final preparations to rescue Snape. Making a Portkey, he activated it and shortly found himself outside the prison Chateau D'If. _'Odd,'_ he thought. _'I should have arrived inside the prison. In fact, the Portkey was tied to Severus' location. Well, now I have to find a way in.'_

As he pondered the problem, an alarm had sounded inside the prison administration block. Immediately, a lockdown procedure was put in place and guards went on full alert. The warden notified the Deputy Minister of Magic that an attempt to Portkey inside the prison had been made. The warden smiled to himself. _'Foolish to try that, now we know something's up.'_

Albus had hidden himself under the Potter invisibility cloak and had simply walked up to the gate to the prison. Unfortunately, the gate was now locked and no one was on duty, it seemed. Trying several complex unlocking spells to no avail, he tried to Apparate inside. When that didn't work, he tried to climb over the gate. The gate grew as fast as he climbed it and he soon gave it up as a bad job. He sat down out of sight and pondered the problem. _'Well, maybe someone will come out and I can slip by him or her,'_ he thought.

As the evening wore on, nobody came and Albus dozed fitfully. Finally near dawn, he was awakened by voices drawing near. Quickly rising, he made sure the invisibility cloak was secure about him. Two people, a man and a woman, were walking to the gate.

"Charles, I'm sure no one has broken in. I mean, how could they? No one can get in or out without the warden knowing and the wards are special wards. The only one crazy enough to try is that old coot of a headmaster from Britain. Stupid old man! Why doesn't he just let that creepy Potions professor rot in his cell?"

"You know I worry, Alix. That 'Old Coot' maybe stupid, but he's powerful and wily."

Albus seethed at being called stupid. Well, they'd learn that he was smarter than all of them. As they exited, Albus slipped inside.

……………

**Beauxbatons:**

Harry had now been missing for almost a day. The sky was darkening and clouds were building up for a storm. The heat of the day promised a decent thunderstorm that night. Hermione and Gabrielle had returned to their dorm; Hermione to feed Crookshanks and Gaby to feed Harry's owl Hedwig. After a light supper, where neither girl ate much, they settled in bed for an uneasy sleep.

During the night, Hermione felt something. She turned over and gasped as she saw Harry suddenly appear and immediately fall on top of her. "Harry!" she screamed. "Oof, get off!"

But Harry lay still. He had an odd rock in his hand but seemed to be unconscious.

"Gabrielle! It's Harry, help me!"

Gabrielle was beside her in an instant, helping her move Harry. "What happened? How did he get here?" Gabrielle asked. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Hermione wailed. "I was sleeping, and suddenly he was here and fell on top of me. Go get Madame Suzette! Hurry!"

Gabrielle quickly threw a robe on and rushed off in search of the nurse.

The commotion awakened several other students and several helped her set Harry in a more comfortable position. He was pale and had a weak pulse and was filthy. Several long scratches and scrapes covered his face and an egg sized bump that was slowly turning yellow adorned his left arm.

"What happened?" Aimée Laroche, one of the fifth year girls asked.

"I don't know. Harry just appeared. He's been missing all day. We suspect he somehow got into the caves."

"But that's impossible: the caves are warded, nobody can get in. And why would he want to?" Louis Gillette,a sixth year boy, stated.

"Umm, Harry seems to be special when it comes to wards," Hermione temporised. "We don't know why he went there."

Madame Suzette quickly appeared and examined Harry. "We'd better get him to the infirmary; this doesn't look good."

With Madame Suzette levitating Harry, and Hermione and Gabrielle opening doors and clearing a path, they managed to get him into a bed in the infirmary. "Call the Headmistress, Gabrielle. Hermione, can you fetch Professor McGonagall and Professor Brabant?"

Both girls rushed off while the nurse continued to wave her diagnostic wand over Harry: muttering and frowning at what she was seeing. _'Fractured arm, concussion, his magical core is almost completely exhausted! No wonder he's unconscious.'_

Professor McGonagall was the first to arrive, with Madame Maxime and Professor Brabant close behind. "What happened?" the Headmistress asked. "Gabrielle said that Harry suddenly appeared… My God, he looks terrible!"

"His magic has been almost completely drained, Headmistress. He's lucky to be alive. Oh, I can clean him up and fix his bumps, scrapes and broken arm, but he'll need time to recover. His core is damaged; he may not be able to do magic again. Only time will tell if he'll recover completely."

Everyone gasped at this. "Harry!" Hermione wailed. "Why did you run? Please get well!"

Harry lay still, breathing shallowly; his body pale and his eyes closed. He seemed to be in pain, as a grimace played on his face. Suddenly, he screamed, "NO!" and writhed on the bed, sweat breaking out on his body, his face a mask of horror.

Alarmed, Madame Suzette forced a calming draft down his throat until he calmed a bit, and finally fell limp.

Minerva took Hermione aside and suggested they talk. "Harry will sleep now, Hermione. There's nothing we can do, at least until tomorrow if he even awakens then. Madame Suzette will let us know of any change in his condition. Meanwhile, we'll have to tell your parents."

"I-I'd rather be with Harry, Professor. Mum and Dad will be upset, but I don't know what to tell them. We don't even know for sure where he was, or what happened to him. The look of horror on his face… I'll never forget that. Wherever he was, I don't ever want to see."

"Hermione, we have to tell your parents! They'll be furious if we don't tell them. If you don't tell them, I will! It's my duty."

Hermione wilted under McGonagall's assertion. "A-all right. I'll send Hedwig with a note for them to meet us… Wait, we'll have to get them, they won't be able to find their way here."

"You send Hedwig, I'll bring them here."

………….

Harry was gripped in an intense nightmare. The three horrors that he'd seen in the cave had finally cornered him and were strangely conversing, arguing over who got which part of him. It seemed that the Cave Rock Giant wanted to roast him first. He could still feel the intense heat from its breath.

Thrashing about wildly, he tangled himself in the bed covers. Madame Suzette, alerted by her monitoring charms, was quickly by his side and forced another calming draught down his throat. As he calmed, she found him soaked in sweat. He was running a fever that was dangerously high at this point. If she couldn't bring the fever down quickly, he would die. It was already over 42 degrees Celsius. She conjured an ice pack and applied it to his forehead. A cool wet blanket was next and she wrapped his body in it. His temperature plummeted suddenly and she thought the worst was over until she saw him shivering violently. _'NO'_ she thought. _'Too fast! He can't have shrugged off the fever that fast!'_ Removing the blanket, she brought his body temperature up slowly with a warming charm. It suddenly rocketed up to dangerous levels again and she applied a mild cooling charm. This was beyond anything that she'd ever seen. Wild swings in temperature in a patient were extremely dangerous. Quickly drawing on all her knowledge as a healer, she reached for a potion that she rarely used. _'I wonder…'_ The potion was meant to stabilise trauma patients that had suffered seizures. She carefully measured out the proper dose and fed it to him. At first, nothing happened. Then, as his temperature began to stabilise, he calmed and seemed to fall into a deep sleep. Waving her wand over him, she sighed in satisfaction. The potion was working, although his breathing was still a bit irregular. Soon, it evened out and he slept. The next few days would be critical, but she was still worried about his magical core.

………….


	14. Chapter 14

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M for later chapters

Thanks to my beta grenouille7777.

**Chapter 14: The Grangers Reaction**

Hedwig flew in the open window of the Granger residence in Marseilles. Nobody was home, so she waited patiently. Two hours later, Jane and Dan came home from their new practise and were surprised to see Hedwig waiting for them with a note.

"Hedwig," Jane smiled. "You've a note from Harry or Hermione?"

The Snowy Owl let out a soft squawk and held out her leg. Dan took the note and Hedwig returned to her perch, waiting to see if there was an answer to deliver.

Dan read the note, a scowl slowly forming on his face. "Jane, something's happened to Harry. Hermione wants Minerva to pick us up as soon as possible. Hedwig will deliver our note back to them."

Jane grabbed the note and read it. It didn't say much, but she could see tear stains on the page. "Harry's unconscious at Beauxbatons and they don't know why. It seems that he ran away. Why, I wonder?"

Jane wrote the note telling Minerva that she could pick them up directly. They'd wait at home until she arrived. Tying the note to Hedwig's leg, they sent her off. She gave a sorrowful bark and headed back to Beauxbatons.

An hour later, Minerva arrived and wasted no time in explaining what had happened. "Jane, Dan, he's unconscious at the moment. I won't hide the seriousness of his condition. He Apparated directly to Hermione's bed from somewhere. We suspect he somehow got into the cave system. The caves are heavily warded and he shouldn't have been able to get in there. In any case, his magical core is almost depleted. We're not sure if he'll survive. I'll take you there and we'll continue this discussion then."

Dan and Jane glanced at each other, fearful that they may lose Harry. "Minerva, why did he run away?" Jane asked.

"We don't know for certain. He tried to enchant a rock into a dagger and it knocked him out. When he came to, we explained he shouldn't be experimenting without supervision. Apparently, he took it badly and ran off. Grab hold of this rope; it's a Portkey. It'll take us to just outside the Academy wards and we can walk the rest of the way."

"He took it badly?" Dan asked as they arrived. "Just what was said?"

"That was my fault, I'm afraid," Minerva replied. "I admonished him for using a spell from his old book without proper supervision. I'm afraid I was a little harsh and mentioned I'd have to tell you. I may have also mentioned that I was disappointed in him."

"Oh dear. That can't have gone well. He's so used to being punished and degraded for what he's done while he was at the Dursley's, that he must have panicked," Jane groaned quietly.

Quickly walking up to the school, Minerva brought them to the Headmistress' office.

"Hello Olympe, how is he?"

"Still unconscious, Minerva. Hello Jane, Dan. I'm afraid the news is not good. He went into convulsions an hour ago and Madame Suzette had a devil of a time stabilising him. He seems to be resting now, but he's not out of the woods yet."

"Can we see him?" Jane asked, sounding as worried as she felt.

"I'd prefer to wait a bit to see if he settles down. Madame Suzette is very worried. We don't know if his magic will survive this. It was almost completely drained. Professor Brabant suspects the caves may have absorbed his magic every time he used it. If he hadn't been able to get out, he would have died in there."

"B-but h-how did he get out?"

"We think he somehow made an enchanted Portkey and Portkeyed out. That's the most logical explanation, but he must have seen something horrific in there. His nightmares, while he was unconscious, left him screaming."

Madame Suzette entered the office and quickly whispered something to Madame Maxime. Olympe smiled and dismissed the healer.

"He seems to be sleeping normally now. His temperature has returned to normal and he's stopped thrashing about in bed."

"May we see him now?" Dan was a bit more forceful than his wife: he didn't like his new son suffering any more than he already had.

"Yes, he's still unconscious, but your daughter and Miss Delacour are with him, waiting for him to wake up."

Dan and Jane entered the hospital wing and immediately spotted Hermione. She was holding Harry's hand, caressing it and speaking softly. Gabrielle was on the other side of his bed, watching him closely.

They both turned as her parents entered the room.

"Mum, Dad! When did you get here? Harry's…" but her voice trailed of in a choked sob.

"Hermione," Jane softly admonished her daughter, "Harry will be fine. The nurse said he's resting now."

"Miss Delacour, I see you've taken an interest in Harry as well."

"Hello Mrs. Granger. Yes, Harry and Hermione are good friends. We do everything together."

"We've got most of the story from Minerva and the Headmistress," Dan explained. "We'd like to hear from you two what really happened. Hermione? No secrets, remember."

Gathering herself, Hermione explained as best she could. "It's my fault, Dad. I asked him to show Gabrielle the book. He tried to do what we thought was a simple enchantment and it went wrong, somehow and knocked him unconscious. Gaby and I took him to the infirmary and when he awoke, the Headmistress and professors questioned him. I think he was afraid that if Minerva told you, you'd be angry with him, so he ran. We chased him and Gaby saw him just disappear near the caves…"

Gabrielle continued the story. "He was about thirty metres in front of me and I yelled at him to stop, and he just… vanished. We searched everywhere, thinking he might have Apparated back to our dorm. You can't Apparate anywhere on the grounds or in the school, you know, but apparently Harry can. In any case, the school was searched and Harry wasn't found."

Hermione took over the account again. "H-he just suddenly appeared on my bed earlier today, unconscious. He was filthy and had blood from several cuts and scrapes on his face. We took him to the Hospital wing where we found he had a broken arm and a big bump on his head. H-he scared us, Mum. He screamed and thrashed about, still unconscious. We were chased out at that point and only just allowed back."

"Mmmhh!" A weak groan came from Harry.

"Harry! Can you hear me?" Hermione cried. "Gaby, get Madame Suzette. I think Harry's waking up."

Gabrielle ran to get the nurse and quickly returned with Madame Suzette in tow.

"Move aside Miss Granger, I need to examine him. Did he say something?"

"He just groaned, but I think he's starting to wake up."

The nurse quickly ran her wand over him, checking various readings that were popping up around the wand. She sighed with relief. "I think the worst is over. His magical core seems to be rebuilding. He's still very weak, but I think he'll be fine. I'll want to keep him here under observation for a few more days, possibly longer.

"Harry, can you hear me?" she asked.

A weak groan issued from Harry and his eyes fluttered open briefly.

"Too bright," he groaned, trying to shield his eyes. He gave up when his arms wouldn't obey him, so he turned his head away.

"I think that's all for now. He'll need to rest. You can visit him again later," the stern medi-witch admonished.

Reluctantly, the Grangers and Gabrielle left. "We'll be back, Harry," Hermione and Gabrielle both pledged.

Harry lay still, trying to remember what happened. Had somebody been here a minute ago? The harder he tried, the less he could remember. One thing seemed to be clear; Hermione had been here with him. He smiled inwardly at that. At least Hermione cared. But what had happened? Why was he here? Where was here? The more he concentrated, the slipperier the memory seemed to be. It was like water, slipping though his fingers. Finally he drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

…………..

Albus Dumbledore was not having a very nice day. Getting into the prison was more difficult than he had imagined. Inside, he felt a change in his magic: subtle, but real. As if he couldn't quite grasp it anymore. This frightened him more than anything else ever had. 'Get a grip,' he told himself. 'Find Severus and get out of this hellhole!'

He'd been sneaking through the corridors, careful not to be seen. Unknown to him, the Warden already knew exactly where he was, and more importantly, who he was.

The Warden, chucking to himself, reached for a coffee and settled down to enjoy the predicament the fool had now placed himself in. _'When he realises he can't use his magic, he'll panic. Then we'll have him where we want him. Snape will have company soon.'_

…………..

Harry slept for three days straight. Hermione and Gabrielle maintained a vigil by his bedside when not attending classes. The Grangers, seeing that Harry was recovering, returned to Marseille and their new dental practice, making sure that Minerva kept them up to date on Harry's condition. They would return when Harry was fully recovered. They wanted answers and needed to reassure him that they loved him, no matter what.

On the fourth day, Harry awoke and suddenly sat up. The room spun crazily around him, before he lay down and closed his eyes until the vertigo passed.

Madame Suzette, who had been checking him at the time, sternly told him, "Mr. Potter-Granger, you can't make any sudden moves. You're still very weak."

"Mmm hungry," Harry mumbled. "Thirsty, too. What happened?"

"We'd like to know that too, I'll fetch the Headmistress when you've eaten. Do you feel up to sitting up? Slowly, Mr. Potter-Granger."

Harry slowly managed to sit up and the medi-witch propped pillows behind him, supporting his back. Levitating a simple breakfast to him, she watched as he ate. "Can you eat more? You've been unconscious or asleep for four days now. There's only so much potions can do to keep your strength up."

"Yes, please. Actually, I'm starving."

Madame Suzette cautioned Harry to eat slowly and had a house elf bring a substantial breakfast to him.

Hermione and Gabrielle stopped in on their way to class and found Harry eating ravenously.

"Harry! You're awake!" they chorused.

"Grmmfld," he replied, his mouth stuffed with French toast.

"Harry! Manners! Don't try to talk with your mouth full."

Gulping the last bit down, he exclaimed, "Hermione, Gabrielle, what happened? Why am I here?"

"You don't remember, Harry?" Hermione gaped.

"Not a bit of it. Last thing I remember, I was running outside."

"Why did you run, Harry," Hermione asked, afraid of the answer.

"I-I… Everyone was angry with me. They were going to tell Mum and Dad…"

"Harry, you know that we all love you. Mum and Dad wouldn't hurt you. You should know that by now."

Umm… I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly. I was remembering my Uncle and Aunt. They would have beat me…"

"Harry, those days are over," Hermione reassured him as Dan and Jane Granger had listened to Harry's story in awe from the next room.

………………..


	15. Chapter 15 Recovery

**Harry Potter and the Enchanting Boy**

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter and wish I did.

A Harry/Hermione/Gabrielle story.

Rating is M for language. (Sorry, no beta for this chapter).

If my sanity asks, I was never here.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Recovery**

**Beauxbatons, Early October.**

Days later Harry was beginning to remember the horror of the caves. As he spoke to his family, Gabrielle and the professors, he shuddered.

"I don't know how I got in the caves, but it was pitch dark inside. There was a faint light, far away. After fumbling around for my wand and trying to cast Lumos, I was thrown to the ground." He continued his tale, remarking that he was afraid to use his wand and that a rock he picked up took him deeper into the cave. He told of his meeting with the three monsters and how he escaped each time. Finally. He told them of the rock he enchanted to a Portkey that took him back here.

"Harry, you enchanted a rock to make a Portkey?" Madame Maxime asked, shocked. "That's very advanced magic Harry."

Minerva also gasped when she heard that. "What have you been reading, Harry? That book of yours has dangerous magic in it. You're lucky it didn't kill you."

Harry shook off the remonstration. "I would have been trapped in there forever if I hadn't remembered the enchantment," he replied. "I saw a skeleton of someone that had died in there: I didn't want to end up like them."

Minerva blushed and reluctantly agreed. "I'm sorry, Harry. We were all so worried when we couldn't find you. Do you mind if Professor Brabant examines the Portkey? It seems a little odd somehow. I would not have believed it would have worked through all the wards on the cave."

Harry agreed and Professor Brabant took the rock and examined it.

"That's odd," he exclaimed after a close examination. "I've never seen a rock quite like this. I can detect the enchantment, but the rock itself has peculiar properties as well. I'll need to study it further. There is a definite crystalline structure quite unlike anything I've seen before. Not exactly a rigid formed structure, more… plastic? The rock structure sort of shifts when I run my wand over it: definitely weird.

As he examined it, the rock suddenly disappeared from his hand and landed on Harry's lap. "Now that's very weird!" Brabant exclaimed. "I've never heard of a Portkey doing that!"

"Harry no! Don't…" Hermione warned, but it was too late.

Harry picked up the Portkey and promptly disappeared again.

"What in Merlin's name happened? W-where did he go?"

Everyone was so startled that they stood there with their mouths hanging open, before Hermione and Gabrielle collapsed sobbing. "H-he's gone again!" they wailed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Severus was startled to see Albus wandering in the corridor outside his cell. "Albus," he hissed. "What are you doing here? The corridors are enchanted to…"

Dumbledore suddenly found himself in a cell next to Snape, bound and gagged. He tried to apparate out, but found he couldn't concentrate. A fog seemed to form in his mind as soon as he tried to think of a destination.

"Albus, what have you done? You're now as trapped as I."

Albus glared and tried to move, but the magical bindings merely tightened themselves around his body.

"Tut, tut, professor," A voice said. "Mustn't struggle, you know. The bindings will only tighten themselves and eventually kill you." The voice seemed to be coming from the ceiling and Albus could make out a small mirror like device in a far corner of the ceiling.

"As you can see, Dumbledore, you are now a prisoner of the State. Attempting to arrange a prison break in France is a serious offence. I'm afraid you will be spending time here until the Minister of Magic for France decides to release you."

A guard entered the cell and relieved Dumbledore of his wand and after a thorough search, several other suspicious articles that were hidden in various places in his clothing and body. One item of note was a rather nasty looking curved dagger that seemed to have several enchantments on it.

"Well, well," the voice said. "Full of surprises, are we? Bringing enchanted dangerous objects into a prison will likely not be well received by our government. Guard, perform a cavity search on the prisoner!"

As the guard moved to comply, stripping the bound headmaster, both simply disappeared, leaving the observer to gape in shock. "Damn! Timed Portkey! Well, now we have kidnapping to add to his charges. Maurice, notify the Minister! Collect his clothing and burn it!

* * *

The breakfast in the Great Hall at Hogwarts was interrupted by the Headmaster suddenly appearing, albeit stark naked, with a very confused French prison guard with his hand in a very inappropriate place. Giggling immediately broke out between the students and a red faced Albus Dumbledore quickly conjured a robe for himself, bound the guard and herded him off to one of the dungeons.

Muttering to himself, Albus made his way to his office and sealed himself in to consider his next move. The loss of his wand was a severe blow to his dignity and he promised himself that the French would pay dearly for this affront.

* * *

Harry was confused. He had rapidly transported to a succession of odd places: The forest, the cave, his dorm and finally popping back into the infirmary, only to repeat the process twice more before someone managed to summon the Portkey rock from his hand. "Wha… what happened?"

Madame Maxime quickly warded the stone and shrugged her shoulders. "Where did you go Harry? You seemed to pop in and out of here three times before we were able to stop you."

"Well, Headmistress, I remember the cave and the forest and my dorm. I think that's all. How did that happen?"

Professor Brabant attempted to explain. "I think the rock was unstable with the enchantment you added to it and it bounced you around the school property a bit. You are not to touch this rock again. We will dispose of it as soon as we can figure a way to safely handle it."

Hermione and Gabrielle had meanwhile hugged Harry to them tightly, refusing to let go. "Harry," Hermione moaned, "that was dangerous. We thought we'd lost you for good. Your magical reserve is still weak and you wouldn't have been able to return if you'd continued much longer. Each time you returned, you sort of flickered before disappearing again. The last time you disappeared, you flickered for several seconds and Madame Maxime couldn't get a spell to hold on the rock long enough to prevent it activating again. Finally, the three of them managed to get it away from you, but it was a near thing."

Jane and Dan joined the girls in the hug and afterwards promised to have a long talk with Harry. "You're not in trouble Harry, we're simply worried that you ran away," Dan said. "Please be careful in the future."

As the days passed, Harry and the girls settled into a routine. Classes, rest (in Harry's case), studying and relaxation out of doors. Harry had resolved not to experiment with enchantments until he learned much more. Professor Brabant had cautioned him to leave the book locked up in a safe place and Harry had agreed.

* * *

**Hogwarts, Late October.**

The French Ministry of Magic was in an uproar. One of their Aurors had been kidnapped by Albus Dumbledore. An appeal to the British Ministry of Magic had fallen on deaf ears. Apparently Cornelius Fudge had been browbeaten by Albus to cut all ties with the French. Things could not stay at this impasse for long and a series of censures by the ICW and increasing pressure by the various magical governments had finally brought about the release of the French Auror. Relations between the two countries, already strained, had deteriorated to the point that the muggle governments became involved. The British Prime Minister and French Premier had started exploratory talks to see if a compromise could be arranged before more serious consequences resulted. Albus Dumbledore was in deep trouble and he knew it, but steadfastly refused to be intimidated by what he regarded as an inferior government. Politics, being what they were, took a dim view of Dumbledore's prejudices. There were calls for his removal from both within the British magical community and muggle government. Albus stood fast, however and retreated to his office when the Minister For Magic demanded an audience. A loud and acrimonious argument ensued and Albus was forced to make a public apology to the French. Things settled down somewhat after that but Albus was determined to have his revenge and retrieve his friend Severus.

Harry Potter was now a secondary objective, but was not forgotten. He had tried to access the Potter vaults, only to be hustled out of Gringotts by several angry guards that didn't take well to being bullied. Goblin magic was something Albus was not able to deal with, despite being the most powerful wizard in Britain. A broken nose was the least of his injuries and Madam Pomfrey spent several hours tending to the various cuts and broken bones on the ancient wizard.

'_Blasted boy, I need those funds!'_ he thought savagely. The Potter vaults held significant gold that would be better put to use to fund his various projects, not the least was to ensure that Voldemort would not regain power and influence once he returned as prophesied.

Meanwhile, several students were questioning whether it was prudent to remain at Britain's premier magical school. Neville Longbottom had owled his grandmother for permission to transfer to Beauxbatons Academe to join Harry. It had become increasingly apparent that Hogwarts was not safe when a Mountain Troll was discovered loose in the dungeons on Halloween. Two students had died and three more were injured before the troll had been killed. Then there was the three headed dog that was in the supposedly locked room on the third floor. It has escaped and the staff had lost one more professor before it too was killed. It seemed that the Potions position was cursed. Then the DADA professor was found to have been possessed and had escaped before he could be captured. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was not having a good year. Even his fabled Phoenix, Fawkes was turning his back on the old wizard. Albus knew Fawkes couldn't leave because of the binding spell he had set on the bird, but Fawkes chafed at being compelled to obey the old fool. Soon he would find a way to break the spell and then he would seek a more deserving companion.

* * *

A very surprised Luna Lovegood was discussing her upcoming entrance to Hogwarts next September. Her father, one Xenophilius Lovegood had other ideas, however. "No, my sweet, you will not be going to Hogwarts next year."

"Father? Why-ever not? I was looking forward to attending and meeting with Neville. Has something happened to my betrothed?" she questioned.

Her father patted her head in affection and explained. "I just heard from Augusta Longbottom. Neville will be transferring to Beauxbatons next year and you will join him. Time to brush up on your French, pumpkin. Augusta tells me that Hogwarts is no longer safe. Even Harry Potter refuses to attend."

Luna blinked in confusion. Hogwarts was no longer safe? Harry Potter and her betrothed were attending Beauxbatons? This was serious. Of course she would follow Neville; that was a foregone conclusion. They had grown up together and had a marriage contact written when they were still infants. She adored Neville and he returned her affection. The petite dusky blonde with hair down to her bum accepted what her father told her without question. If he told her that Hogwarts wasn't safe, it meant that something very wrong had happened. Of course there were rumours, but she had not been told much, even though her Neville had owled her weekly. She would have to ask him when she next saw him at Christmas.

* * *

**Beauxbatons November 27**

After the scare with the cave, Harry had been extremely cautious. The book had been secured and protected deep within the school's protected vaults. Only the headmistress had ultimate access and Harry had decided to let her safeguard the book until he was older.

They had celebrated Hermione's birthday on September 19th, but today was Gabrielle's birthday. Fleur had arranged a birthday party and with the help of Harry and Hermione, a classroom was obtained for the celebration. Gabrielle was almost a year younger than Harry, but was allowed to attend the French school as her magic had matured enough to allow it. It was one of the differences that the French were proud of. Children could start magical school as young as ten as long as their magical core was developed enough to be controlled. Britain, however, demanded that they be eleven before they could attend, thus Hermione was almost a year older than Harry.

Being a veela, Gabrielle had matured faster than a normal witch but had not reached veela puberty yet. Fleur had kept an eye on her sister, fearing that when she attained puberty, her hormones would affect those males close to her, just as hers had. Strangely, Harry had not been affected, for which she was grateful. She had pushed her allure a bit to test him, but it apparently had no effect. He was able to ignore it and she was glad. Gabrielle would not have any trouble being around him when she fully matured in the near future.

The party was a success with Gaby receiving presents from her friends and as the days passed, the trio began an intense study regimen for the upcoming term exams. Hermione, of course, led the charge with a very detailed planner and made sure Harry and Gabrielle stuck to it. Late night studying became a habit and the trio were usually found in the library, surrounded by books and parchment, quills writing furiously as they pondered points that were sure to be asked on the exams.

Finally the exams were upon them and the first day proved the worth of all the extra study. All three felt that they was done well and prepared for the following day's exams. Transfiguration and Defense were the hardest and were now safely behind them. Tomorrow would be Charms and History, followed by Potions, Herbology and Astronomy. The fourth day was set aside for Government and Muggle Studies. Harry was also allowed to try Enchantments but was not expected to pass. Apparently, Harry had retained more in the class than Professor Brabant realised as he passed with an Acceptable. Hermione and Gabrielle were ecstatic at his marks with Hermione a bit disappointed that she wasn't allowed to take the test as well. She knew that Harry was much better than she in that course, but contented herself with topping the class in all her other subject, although Harry and Gabrielle were close behind.

Minerva couldn't be prouder and had notified Jane and Dan at once. Both parents were extremely pleased that their children had scored well on their term exams.

The winter was now upon them, although not as harsh as Scotland, was almost as rainy. As the dreary days marched on, Christmas holidays approached and the pair anxiously awaited the trip back to Marseille and the Granger home.


End file.
